England beat Serbia 1-0 in their Euro 2024 debut at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday as they topped Group C on three points.
The atmosphere created by the fans of both national teams, who engaged in a few brawls around the city hours before Sunday’s match at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, caused sparks to fly between the players in the opening minutes of the game.
The Three Lions started the first half pressing high and creating several chances to prove their worth as European tournament favourites. Gareth Southgate felt the pressure off his shoulders as Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham broke the deadlock with a superb header following a cross from Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka from the right flank.
The visitors were comfortably in control for the first 45 minutes despite a few scares from the Serbian attack. The Serbs’ clearest chance came in the 21st minute when Andrija Zivkovic capitalised on a mistake in their opponents’ defence and found Aleksandar Mitrovic with little space. The Al-Hilal player had a great chance to restart the game which he missed by firing the ball wide of Jordan Pickford’s goal.
The underdogs tried not to be dominated by England but keeping them at bay proved a difficult task. Southgate’s men kept creating chances to extend their lead in the first period but their efforts were in vain. So much so that they failed to score their second goal from a free-kick taken by Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 30th minute, which meant they went in at half-time leading 1-0.
The Serbs started the second half strongly and were ready to turn their fortunes around in the match. They took the field with fierce attacks to find an equaliser. Dusan Vlahovic came close to scoring early in the second period but England were unwilling to let him restart the game.
Dragan Stojkovic’s side came close to netting a leveller when Filip Mladenovic beat John Stones to the ball and passed to Mitrovic, whose efforts were controversially denied by Kieran Trippier. The hosts appealed for a penalty but referee Daniel Orsato did not award it.
Jordan Pickford donned the hero’s cape to block an incredible effort from Vlahovic to restart the game. Dusan Tadic, who made an immediate impact after coming on in the 61st minute, also created danger from a corner-kick but Harry Kane played the role of defender to hold his side’s result.
Serbia’s constant counter-attacks made the Three Lions nervous in the final minutes of the meeting but their efforts were not enough to stop the visitors. England are leading the Group C table on three points while the Serbs are bottom on zero points despite good chances in the last 45 minutes.