Tuchel rates Serbia win the England's benchmark
Thomas Tuchel declared England had set the standard for future performances after it crushed Serbia 5-0 to inch closer to World Cup qualification.
Serbia also had Nottingham Forest centre-back Nikola Milenkovic sent off for a desperate lunge on Kane as it suffered its biggest-ever competitive defeat on home soil.
The game was just the third time England has had as many as three different players score its first international goals in the same game since winning the World Cup in 1966.
That previously occurred in October 2020 versus Wales (Danny Ings, Conor Coady and Dominic Calvert-Lewin), and in November 2024 against the Republic of Ireland (Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Jarrod Bowen).
Having been heavily criticised for their lack of creativity in Sunday's 2-0 win over Andorra, England attempted more than twice as many shots as it recorded in that game.
"We had an excellent week from start to finish," Tuchel said. "We just proved what I saw every day in this camp. We played with a lot of intensity, it was teamwork in its purest form.
"From there, we showed our quality. We limited Serbia to no shots on target, you need to put in a lot of work and have intensity in the duels. We did this in all positions.
"We learned from the first two camps. We had three weeks of training together, that normally is half a pre-season. So it takes a bit of time.
"In between those weeks, there was a pause for weeks. We started new and fresh after the first two camps. The first camp was very good, the second camp was so-so.
"We started new, gave the players clarity in their roles and the structure we are playing. From this, we gave them the responsibility to bring it to life, and they did excellently.
"Credit goes to them, they did amazingly. That is the bar."
Elliot Anderson produced another impressive display alongside Declan Rice in the England midfield, having also been among the Three Lions' best performers against Andorra.
Rice said of his new partner: "He made it look so easy. He has done what he has been doing at his club for two years.
"He is a great addition to the squad. We need competition, and we need lads at their best."
