5 Things You Missed From England 1-0 Serbia

England’s Euro 2024 campaign got off to a successful start with a 1-0 victory over Serbia, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing for Gareth Southgate’s men. An early goal from Jude Bellingham got the Three Lions off to a flying start, and throughout the first half it looked like they were going to dominate their opponents.

Things changed in the second half, though, and Serbia really came into the match. They took control for large portions of the game after the restart and England played with their backs against the wall for a while. Southgate’s players ultimately held on in the end and came away with the win – just their second in the opening match of a European Championship since 1980.

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England 1-0 Serbia: Player Ratings and Match Highlights

England began their Euro 2024 campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Serbia.

The match was an intense one and ended up being much closer than many expected going in, but there were several interesting moments that you may have missed from the night, so let’s take a closer look.

Erik ten Hag Casts Verdict on England

Hinted Southgate is the reason for their struggles

Among the millions who will have been watching England’s win over Serbia was Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag. The former Ajax coach was providing analysis on the game for Dutch channel NOS. Speaking about the manner in which England started off strongly but struggled towards the end, he appeared to lay the blame at Southgate’s feet, commenting:

It’s not the first time a Southgate England side has taken an early lead before losing control of the game. Similar issues occurred when the Three Lions played Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final and the Euro 2020 final. Fortunately for the side, it didn’t come back to hurt them this time around, but it’s easy to see why Ten Hag has pointed towards Southgate for the way in which the team lost momentum as the match progressed. Ten Hag also added:

Bellingham’s New Goal Celebration

The midfielder pulled it out with Alexander-Arnold

It took just over 12 minutes for Bellingham to open England’s account for Euro 2024 when he headed home from inside the area. It was a huge moment for the Real Madrid man, and he decided to pull out a new celebration to mark it. Alongside teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold, he decided to drop down to one knee and cover his face with the front of his hand.

While the reasoning behind the celebration comes from a training ground joke with one of England’s coaches, there’s no denying how cool it looked in the moment. Whether it was a one-off or not remains to be seen, but there’s a good chance that it could be come almost as iconic as his trademark celebration if he were to use it in the future.

Bellingham’s Record-Breaking Night

It was a special evening for the midfielder

Scoring for your nation in their opening game of a major tournament has to feel pretty special anyway, but that was far from the only reason that England’s match against Serbia was a significant one for Bellingham. The Real Madrid star’s appearance for the Three Lions against Serbia meant he became the first European player ever to feature at three major international tournaments before he’d even turned 21 years old.

His goal to open the scoring for Southgate’s side also made him the first-ever player to score for England at a World Cup and a European Championship while he’s playing outside the country. Quite a memorable evening for a player who has quickly become one of the best talents on the planet.

England’s Issues Down the Left

It was the Three Lions’ biggest weakness

Heading into the tournament, one of England’s biggest worries was their lack of options at left-back, with Luke Shaw struggling with injury issues. Kieran Trippier was selected to fill in for the Manchester United man, and Phil Foden played ahead of him, and neither man had a particularly great showing.

In fact, Opta Analyst shared the Three Lions passing network throughout the game and showed how little they’d been able to make something happen down the left-hand side. Fortunately, Bukayo Saka had a strong showing on the right side and looked capable of producing magic on more than one occasion.

Perfect Father’s Day For Kobbie Mainoo’s Dad

He watched from the stands as his son made his Euro debut

It was the perfect Father’s Day gift for Kobbie Mainoo’s dad as he was spotted watching England from the stands as they beat Serbia. The midfielder came on in the second half to make his Euro debut too, which was a special moment for both himself and his father watching on.

Mainoo broke through into the Manchester United first-team during the 2023-24 campaign and with what he’s shown so far, there’s an expectation that he’ll heavily feature in England’s plans for years to come. He replaced Bellingham against Serbia, but don’t be surprised if the two players spend the foreseeable future lining up alongside each other for the Three Lions.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and accurate as of 16/06/2024.