England wins but does not convince in its debut
A goal from Bellingham signed the poor (0-1) against Serbia with which Southgate’s men entered the European Championship
MADRID, 16 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The England team beat Serbia (0-1) this Sunday in its debut at Euro 2024 thanks to a goal from Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham in the 13th minute, three points with which it puts one foot in the round of 16 in the end although without convincing.
The eternal favorite without a title since the 1966 World Cup came into action in the Italian event with a forced victory against a Serbia that sold its skin dearly. Gareth Southgate’s men went from more to less, with Bellingham everywhere but little of the others.
Midway through the first half, the English team lost control or let Serbia come out of the cave to look for the counterattack, but Dragan Stojkovic’s team did not stop growing until they were close to a tie. In the end, there was no disappointment for the ‘Three Lions’ and, after the draw between Slovenia and Denmark, Group C was handed to them on a plate.
In general it was a fairly flat game for England, especially for the quality in their ranks. Serbia, in its first EURO as a country, bit and defended aggressively, something that kept all that English quality away from its area. Bukayo Saka was the one who tried it a couple of times on the wing and who made it 0-1.
The Arsenal player found a Bellingham who headed the entire ball into the net. The Real Madrid player seemed very motivated but was far from the goal beyond that header. Likewise, neither Harry Kane nor Phil Foden appeared, and Serbia began to find ways to the rival goal.
At the restart, the Balkan team confirmed the change of third, pressing high, waiting for some aim. Mitrovic had it, who claimed a penalty before being substituted, and Tadic and Jovic gave the Serbs even more of a sense of danger. England, hitting the ball with balls, reacted with a shot from Alexander-Arnold and Southgate did not move the bench until the 70th minute.
As soon as he entered, Jarrod Bowen went down the right wing and gave Kane the first chance, but Rajkovic and the crossbar prevented the Bayern striker from scoring. However, Serbia did not give up on a good debut and Vlahovic shot just wide. The English tried to recover the ball but ended up bailing out water in a weak debut although with three points in their pocket.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: SERBIA, 0 – ENGLAND, 1. (0-1, at halftime).
–ALIGNMENTS:
SERBIA: Rajkovic; Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic (Birmancevic, min.74), Milinkovic-Savic, Gudelj (Ilic, descanso), Lukic (Jovic, min.61), Kostic (Mladenovic, min.43); Vlahovic y Mitrovic (Tadic, min.61).
INGLATERRA: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier, Alexander-Arnold (Gallagher, min.69), Rice, Bellingham (Mainoo, min.86), Saka (Bowen, min.76), Foden y Kane.
–GOALS:
0 – 1, min.13, Bellingham.
–REFEREE: Daniele Orsato (ITA). He cautioned Gudelj (min.39) and Tadic (min.75) for Serbia.
–STADIUM: Veltins Arena (Gelsenkirchen).