England got off to a winning start at Euro 2024 after Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal in their 1-0 win over Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.
In Gelsenkirchen, Bellingham was unmatched as the Real Madrid midfielder’s header on the thirteenth minute completed a superb solo performance.
However, as a team, England fell short of the levels demonstrated by Germany and Spain in their resounding victories in their opening games.
There have rarely been larger expectations for England ahead of a major tournament, but they had only triumphed once in their previous five games, losing 1-0 to Iceland in their final warm-up before flying to Germany.
Rejuvenated, the Euro 2020 finalists looked to be winning the game and everything would go according to plan for Gareth Southgate.
On the day of the match, Serbian coach Dragan Stojkovic praised Bellingham as a potential Ballon d’Or winner, and he performed admirably to support his claim to be the finest player in the world right now.
The 20-year-old had the Serbian midfield chasing shadows as he played with the confidence of a freshly minted Champions League winner.
“I feel like in every game I can make an impact. I can decide a game,” said Bellingham.
“It’s a release for me to play football. It’s my favourite thing in the world, so I don’t feel any pressure when I go out there.”
On minute 13, Bellingham demonstrated his physical strength as well to start the scoring.
He initiated the move, then charged into the box to head powerfully into the top corner after Bukayo Saka’s deflected cross.
For the first forty-five minutes, England dominated without ever posing a threat to lose control.
Right-back Kyle Walker made a lunging run into the Serbian box, giving him the best opportunity to extend their lead before halftime, but he missed.
In contrast, England was fortunate to maintain their lead and avoided punishment during the second period.
Due to the absence of Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw’s lack of game experience, Southgate’s team entered the tournament with doubts about their defence.
Stepping into Maguire’s footsteps for Crystal Palace, Marc Guehi had a forgettable moment as Dusan Vlahovic outran him and Filip Mladenovic missed the cross from the Juventus striker.
After that, Mitrovic’s too enthusiastic penalty claim was dismissed, and Luka Jovic missed a good opportunity to score off Dusan Tadic’s pass.
“Second half we didn’t keep it as well as I would have liked but to get the win is very important,” said Southgate.
“We had to suffer a bit. I think to defend the box the way we did was really good for us.”
To stop the bleeding, Southgate went to his bench, bringing on Jarrod Bowen and Conor Gallagher.
Bowen made an immediate impression as Serbian custodian Predrag Rajkovic skillfully deflected Harry Kane’s header against the bar from his cross.
That was the only noteworthy play Kane made in the opposition area during a tough evening for the striker for Bayern Munich.
In fact, Kane’s most crucial move occurred a few moments later when he turned away Veljko Birmancevic’s attempt that was headed towards goal.
Vlahovic’s dipping drive also pushed Jordan Pickford to make his one and only save late in the game.
Though it was not the declaration of purpose anticipated from the pre-tournament favourites, England managed to hold on and begin with three points.
Photo by EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
