Fearless Rogers leads England to double act of silencing locals and their doubters | Barney Ronay

The article discusses England's World Cup qualifier against Serbia, which took place amid a tense and distracted atmosphere. While the match itself saw England produce an "expertly controlled away performance," effectively sealing their World Cup qualification, the article suggests that there were two parallel narratives unfolding. The first narrative focused on the on-field action, with the emergence of Morgan Rogers and the transition of Thomas Tuchel from a "joyless wiry German death-football technocrat" to a "fun wiry German tactical rainmaker." The second narrative, however, was more concerned with the off-field issues that were occupying the attention of the home fans. The article paints a picture of a "gripping, clammy, oddly distracted night in Belgrade," where the football match was taking place against the backdrop of a world that seemed to be "burning around it." The author suggests that the event embodied the idea of elite sport as a "theatre that takes place while the world burns around it."