England made the perfect start to their Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday evening, recording a 1-0 victory over Serbia courtesy of a first-half header from Jude Bellingham.
The Real Madrid midfielder converted a deflected cross from Bukayo Saka to help the Three Lions open Group C with a narrow success over a stern Serbia outfit.
Here, Sports Mole provides a match analysis of England's win in Gelsenkirchen, including highlights, our man of the match and the key stats.
HIGHLIGHTS
13th min: SERBIA 0-1 ENGLAND
England make the breakthrough in the 13th minute of the contest, with Bellingham thumping a header into the back of the net after Saka's cross is deflected into a dangerous area.
WHAT A START FOR ENGLAND! 💥
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 16, 2024
Jude Bellingham heads the Three Lions ahead 🔥#BBCEuros #Euro2024 #SRBENG pic.twitter.com/CItON2je22
20th min: Serbia come close to levelling the scores in the 20th minute of the match, with Aleksandar Mitrovic firing one just wide of the post after some lacklustre defending from England.
22nd min: Declan Rice turns wide of the post inside the Serbia box, with the Arsenal midfielder managing to get contact on a deep free kick from Kieran Trippier.
25th min: Kyle Walker breaks into the Serbian box after smart work from Trent Alexander-Arnold, but there are no takers on his low cross, with Serbia surviving another dangerous moment at a key stage of the contest.
If only someone could get on Kyle Walker's pass 😱#BBCEuros #Euro2024 #SRBENG pic.twitter.com/qEinEwlV10
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 16, 2024
37th min: Saka delivers another dangerous cross into the Serbian box, but there are again no takers, with the chance coming after a good spell of pressure from Serbia.
45th min: Serbia have a half-chance late in the first period, but a cross into the box is just about cleared behind by John Stones.
HALF TIME: SERBIA 0-1 ENGLAND
52nd min: Dusan Vlahovic delivers a teasing cross into the England box, but Filip Mladenovic just fails to make contact, with Serbia threatening early in the second period.
56th min: Serbia goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic is called into action to keep out a powerful strike from Alexander-Arnold, who had found space in a dangerous area.
59th min: Serbia have a shout for a penalty as Mitrovic goes down inside the box under contact from Trippier, but the referee is not interested.
65th min: Luka Jovic comes close to gathering a pass from Dusan Tadic inside the England box, but the ball just runs away from the substitute.
77th min: Harry Kane crashes a header off the crossbar after meeting a cross from Jarrod Bowen, with replays showing that the Serbia goalkeeper had got a touch.
82nd min: England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford makes a brilliant save to deny Vlahovic, before Kane heads one off the line from the resulting corner.
FULL TIME: SERBIA 0-1 ENGLAND
MAN OF THE MATCH - JUDE BELLINGHAM
© Reuters
All eyes were on Bellingham after his sensational season at Real Madrid, and the 20-year-old did not disappoint, putting in a man-of-the-match performance against Serbia.
Bellingham showed courage to put his head into a dangerous area in order to hand England the lead, and he showed his class before being substituted in the latter stages.
Marc Guehi deserves a special mention, with the Crystal Palace defender excellent in the middle of the defence, but Bellingham simply had to be awarded this award.
According to WhoScored, the Real Madrid star made three tackles, while he finished with a pass success rate of 96%, further demonstrating his importance for England on the night.
STANDOUT MOMENT
In truth, it was a game short of standout moments, with England finding it difficult to kick on after such a positive start, but Serbia do deserve huge credit for their response.
Bellingham's header was also the standout moment in the contest, as he showed real desire to be first to the cross, which had dropped into an inviting area.
Without his bravery and perfect execution, this could have been a frustrating draw for Southgate's side.
BEST STATS
1 - Jude Bellingham is the first player to score for the England men's team at both the World Cup and European Championship while playing his club football outside of England. Law. pic.twitter.com/HEC1QlTVob
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 16, 2024
5 - England have become the first team in the history of the men's UEFA European Championship to keep five consecutive clean sheets in the group stages of the competition. Wall. pic.twitter.com/WRVQ4SATJC
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 16, 2024
20 - Jude Bellingham is the first European player to make an appearance at three major international tournaments before turning 21 (aged 20 years, 353 days today), having played at EURO 2020, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and now EURO 2024. Obscure. #SRBENG pic.twitter.com/eh4Ve48whI
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 16, 2024
MATCH STATS
Possession: Serbia 49%-51% England
Shots: Serbia 6-5 England
Shots on target: Serbia 2-3 England
Corners: Serbia 2-1 England
Fouls: Serbia 19-8 England
LINEUPS
SERBIA (3-5-2): Rajkovic; Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic (Birmancevic 74'), Milinkovic-Savic, Gudelj (Ilic 46'), Lukic (Jovic 61'), Kostic (Mladenovic 43'); Vlahovic, Mitrovic (Tadic 61')
ENGLAND (4-3-3): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier; Alexander-Arnold (Gallagher 69'), Rice, Bellingham (Mainoo 86'); Saka (Bowen 76'), Kane, Foden
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