England secured a victory over Serbia in the first round of EURO 2024, taking the lead in Group C. This lulling match ended with a 1-0 win for England, thanks to the only goal scored by Jude Bellingham, who was also named the man of the match.
Overall, there were very few dangerous moments in this game. The expected goals (xG) for both teams did not even reach 1. The best moment was for Harry Kane, but his header was successfully saved off the goal line by Predrag Rajković.
After the match, Jude Bellingham told BBC Sport: "It was a good game. Serbia showed themselves as a good, solid, and strong team. It was important that we prepared well, and we did. The staff got everything right, and we knew our roles. We keep to our own standards and play against the opponent in front of us. The camp is positive — we move on to the next one."
This match demonstrated the professionalism and determination of England, with which they wanted to start their tournament. Judging by the first 15 minutes of the game, you might have expected more goals, but the England team handled Serbia's pressure well in the second half. Tournament football is a long game, and Gareth Southgate will be pleased with the start. This match once again reminded us of Jude Bellingham's importance to this team.
The match statistics chart shows the following:
- Possession: Serbia 47% - 53% England
- Total attempts: Serbia 6 - 5 England
- Attacks: Serbia 34 - 33 England
- Corners: Serbia 2 - 1 England
- Passing accuracy: Serbia 89% - 91% England
- Passes completed: Serbia 455 - 545 England
- Passes attempted: Serbia 512 - 600 England
- Balls recovered: Serbia 29 - 44 England
- Offsides: Serbia 0 - 1 England
- Saves: Serbia 2 - 1 England
England confidently started the tournament, demonstrating cohesive play and a solid victory, but such a game will not be appreciated by neutral football fans who expect a more attacking football from such a star-studded team.