June 16 – Jude Bellingham, the new young superstar of English football, got his country off to a winning start in their quest to end 68 years of hurt and disappointment, but they were given a stern test by a Serbian side who fought like tigers in the second half.
England have a dire record in opening Euro fixtures and were indebted to Bellingham’s 13th minute header, the only goal of the game, as they hit the top of Group C after the earlier draw between Denmark and Slovenia.
The last time England played in Gelsenkirchen they were knocked out of the 2006 World Cup by Portugal.
This time, while it wasn’t pretty, they sneaked home in what was very much a game of two halves against a team ranked 29 places below them and making their long-awaited European Championship debut as an independent country.
Jude Bellingham of England celebrates scoring his Englands first goal with a header
Regarded as one of the big tournament favourites, England started like a train and when Bellingham ran forward to power Bukayo Saka’s cross into the net, it seemed like they would go on and win comfortably despite Harry Kane – top goalscorer in Europe’s so-called big five last season – largely being kept quiet by Serbia’s muscular, no-nonsense defenders.
Kane scored 44 times for Bayern Munich in all competitions last season but wasn’t the only one of England’s much-touted players who found it tough going. Manchester City’s Phil Foden was pretty much anonymous, possibly because of being played out wide instead of down the centre where he is at his most dangerous.
England have plenty of other options, however, but having dominated possession and swarmed all over their opponents, they allowed Serbia, who finished second in their qualifying group behind Hungary, back into the game as they dropped off.
Saka, for instance, had been virtually unplayable in the opening 45 minutes, giving S
Bukayo Saka was outstanding in first half
trahimja Pavlovic a torrid time…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/06/16/bellingham-pushes-england-past-battling-serbs-top-group-c/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-06-16 22:14:31
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