Serbia vs England LIVE RESULT: Jude Bellingham’s solitary strike earns three points but Three Lions far from best
ENGLAND won their opening game of Euro 2024 - but the Three Lions were far from their best against Serbia.
Jude Bellingham powered home a header after just 13 minutes and Gareth Southgate's side were impressive in the first half.
But Serbia were the much better side after the break and England struggled, just about getting over the line after withstanding long periods of pressure.
- Kick-off time: 8pm BST
- Stream/TV: BBC One/iPlayer
That's all from us
It might not have been a vintage display from Southgate's men, but they got the job done.
A Jude Bellingham header in the 13th minute sealed the victory and despite a Serbia fight back, England go marching one.
This blog is now paused but be sure to tune in for England's next match against Denmark this Thursday.
England stars set for big bonus
England players will earn a staggering bonus of £14million if they win Euro 2024.
After suffering defeat on penalties to Italy in the final last time, Gareth Southgate‘s side will be hoping to go one better in Germany.
And on top of Euro’s glory, the Three Lions stars are also in for a nice bonus treat if they are able to bring home the trophy.
That is because if they go on to lift the trophy on July 14, the squad has negotiated a bumper share of the £24million the FA will receive.
Harry Kane on England’s chances
Harry Kane thinks England have a great chance to win the Euros and has said the players will be disappointed if they fail to bring home the trophy.
“If we don’t win, we’re going to be disappointed,” the England skipper told the BBC
“As much as you can be unlucky and go out on penalties, we really want to win and start winning as a national team because we have been taking steps towards this moment.
“It is going to be tough, we know that, but we’re ready for the challenge.”
Southgate ‘really pleased’ with hard-won victory
Gareth Southgate has said he was “really pleased” with England’s performance on Sunday night.
The England boss said of Serbia: “They’re a strong team, we had to suffer a bit, which I think is really good for us.
“To come through and defend our box the way we did under pressure is important for the group.
“We obviously had good chances to extend the lead and kill the game, which we didn’t manage to take.
“I was really pleased with a lot of the play.”
What’s on today?
Here are today's matches and where to watch them:
- Turkey vs Georgia (Dortmund, 5pm) BBC
- Portugal vs Czech Republic (Leipzig, 8pm) BBC
Fans slam ‘boring England’
Despite earning all 3 points last night, it’s safe to say a lot of England fans were unimpressed with the team’s performance.
One disgruntled fan posted: “Boring.”
A second wrote: “Very very boring.”
A third commented: “Trademark Southgate.”
A fourth said: “England has become one of the most boring sides in Europe. Playing like the Italy of the past, minus the trophies.”
Slovakia pull off major upset
In the last hour, we have seen perhaps our first major upset of the tournament.
Slovakia have overcome Belgium after opening the scoring in the seventh minute.
The team survived a late scare when a Lukaku goal was disallowed for a handball.
England stars set for big bonus
England players will earn a staggering bonus of £14million if they win Euro 2024.
After suffering defeat on penalties to Italy in the final last time, Gareth Southgate‘s side will be hoping to go one better in Germany.
And on top of Euro’s glory, the Three Lions stars are also in for a nice bonus treat if they are able to bring home the trophy.
That is because if they go on to lift the trophy on July 14, the squad has negotiated a bumper share of the £24million the FA will receive.
Harry Kane on England's chances
Harry Kane thinks England have a great chance to win the Euros and has said the players will be disappointed if they fail to bring home the trophy.
"If we don't win, we're going to be disappointed," the England skipper told the BBC
"As much as you can be unlucky and go out on penalties, we really want to win and start winning as a national team because we have been taking steps towards this moment.
"It is going to be tough, we know that, but we're ready for the challenge."
Southgate 'really pleased' with hard-won victory
Gareth Southgate has said he was "really pleased" with England's performance last night.
The England boss said of Serbia: ";They’re a strong team, we had to suffer a bit, which I think is really good for us.
"To come through and defend our box the way we did under pressure is important for the group.
"We obviously had good chances to extend the lead and kill the game, which we didn’t manage to take.
"I was really pleased with a lot of the play."
Who is Harry Kane's wife Kate?
Kate (nee Goodland) and Harry are childhood sweethearts who were both pupils at Larkswood Primary in Chingford, London.
They both went on to attend the local Chingford Foundation School close to where they grew up when they started dating.
With Harry experiencing a meteoric rise coming through the ranks at Tottenham Hotspur, he announced his engagement to Kate in July 2017 on Twitter.
In pictures: England wags descend on Germany
England stars were joined by their partners as the team took on Serbia yesterday.
What's on tomorrow?
Here are tomorrow's matches and where to watch them:
- Turkey vs Georgia (Dortmund, 5pm) BBC
- Portugal vs Czech Republic (Leipzig, 8pm) BBC
PIERS MORGAN: Jude Bellingham is a perfect mix of talent, swagger & charisma
The following is an extract from a piece by Piers Morgan...
As it was Father’s Day, my football-mad sons came round my house on Sunday night to watch England kick off their Euro 2024 campaign.
And when Jude Bellingham strutted cockily away after scoring England’s crucial winning goal, my youngest boy Bertie, 23, turned to me and exclaimed: ‘Dad, he’s three years younger than me!’
We both laughed loudly at the sheer absurdity of this statement.
It’s impossible to comprehend just how young Bellingham is given his awesome size, power, astounding talent, and swaggering self-confidence.
What's on today?
One of today's matches is already well underway as another day of non-stop football hits our screens.
Here are today's fixtures, and where you can watch them:
- Romania vs Ukraine (Munich, 2pm) BBC
- Belgium vs Slovakia (Frankfurt, 5pm) ITV
- Austria vs France (Dusseldorf, 8pm) ITV
Fans slam 'boring England'
Despite earning all 3 points last night, it's safe to say a lot of England fans were unimpressed with the team's performance.
One disgruntled fan posted: “Boring.”
A second wrote: “Very very boring.”
A third commented: “Trademark Southgate.”
A fourth said: “England has become one of the most boring sides in Europe. Playing like the Italy of the past, minus the trophies.”
Beer we go
England fans will have enjoyed last night's win – and pub landlords too.
An estimated 30 million pints were sank on Sunday night in the build up and during England’s 1-0 win.
Alexander-Arnold passed his audition
SunSport columnist Jack Wilshere was pleased with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performance against Serbia.
Read his column below.
England match report
Jude Bellingham gets England off to a winning start.
Here’s what chief sports writer Dave Kidd thought of the game.