Harry Kane has described the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade as one of the most intimidating away venues he has ever experienced, ahead of England’s World Cup qualifier against Serbia on Tuesday night. The England captain played there with Tottenham in 2019 and recalled the hostile atmosphere, saying: “It’s just the walk from the changing room to the pitch – it feels like a mile long. There’s a lot of fans, you hear a lot of noise, a lot of banging. So, yeah, it was pretty hostile.”
Kane lists the stadium, now officially called Rajko Mitic Stadium, among his top three most intimidating away grounds, alongside Marseille’s Vélodrome and Galatasaray’s Rams Park. He experienced the former with Spurs in 2022 and the latter with Bayern Munich in 2023. The match against Serbia will take place with almost 15% of the stadium empty due to a Fifa punishment for discriminatory behaviour by Serbian fans during a previous qualifier against Andorra.
The fixture represents a significant test for manager Thomas Tuchel, who is under pressure after a series of underwhelming performances despite winning all four qualifiers in Group K without conceding a goal. Tuchel has experimented with tactics and personnel, including trying to use John Stones in a midfield role, but injuries to key players such as Stones, Jude Bellingham, and Bukayo Sako have disrupted his plans. Kane, however, sees the hostile environment as an opportunity to build team spirit. “When you go to tough environments, you sometimes come away, especially when you win, with an even better feeling,” he said. “When you get through these types of games together, especially as a newish team like we are, that’s how you build experiences and togetherness.”
Kane acknowledged the challenge of playing in such an atmosphere but emphasised the importance of sticking together and finding a way to win. He also noted the pressure on the team to perform, given the high expectations from fans. “Look at the other day,” he said, referring to the 2-0 win against Andorra. “You win 2-0, it’s not enough. You win 5-0, it’s only Andorra. It’s almost a lose-lose.” Despite this, Kane believes that a strong performance in Serbia could help England show their “best version of ourselves” and build momentum for the rest of the qualifying campaign.
