England Opened their Euro 2024 Campaign with an unconvincing 1-0 win over Serbia as Jude Bellingham continued to show how important he is to this England side.
Despite the winning start for Gareth Southgate’s team, pundits and fans were left underwhelmed by the Three Lion’s performance.
Bellingham grabbed the first and only goal of the game in the 13th minute of the game, as he capitalised on a cross from Bukayo Saka and towered over the Serbian defence to head it past Predrag Rajković.
England was the better side over the 90 minutes, however, the second half especially felt flat and unenthusiastic. Fans would hope that the early goal would have opened the floodgates for England, instead, the team lost most of their momentum and struggled to threaten Serbia any further.
After the game, Southgate gave no hints on the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the midfield role he occupied against Serbia. Southgate praised Alexander-Arnold: “I think he showed great discipline, he showed some moments of that fabulous passing range that he has.”
The Liverpool fullback received a lot of criticism online after a mixed performance in which he displayed his strengths as a midfielder but also a lack of experience in his new role that led to cheap mistakes throughout the game.
Phil Foden was also targeted by fans for a lacklustre performance, compared to his usual brilliance at Manchester City. The Premier League Player of the Year struggled to impact the game from the left wing which has caused fans to question whether Southgate has utilised him correctly and even if he should start England’s next game.
England’s opening game of the tournament has put them top of Group C after Matchday one, two points ahead of their next opponent Denmark.
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