“It’s not like when I was at Tottenham playing with my son”
“What a difference a man makes”.
The England national team earned a 1-0 victory over Serbia in their UEFA Euro 2024 Group C opener at the Arena Offshalle in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, at 4 a.m. on Sunday.
With three points, England moved to the top of the table after Denmark and Slovenia shared a point in a 1-1 draw in the same group. Serbia remained at the bottom of the group.
England lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Harry Kane was up front, with Phil Foden-Jude Bellingham-Bukayo Sakho in the attacking two. Declan Rice-Trent Alexander-Arnold protected the back four, while Kieran Trippier-Mark Gehiro-John Stones-Kyle Walker formed a back four. Jordan Pickford was in goal.
The first goal came in the 13th minute. Walker won the ball on the right flank and passed it to Saka in front of him. Saka immediately sent in a right-footed cross, and the deflection found Bellingham in the box. Bellingham rattled the net with a precise header. It was England’s only shot on goal in the first half.
The first half ended with a 1-0 lead for England.
The second half continued to be a dull affair. In the 32nd minute, Jared Bowen’s cross from the right was met by a powerful header from Kane, but it hit the post after being cleared off the line by goalkeeper Predrag Raikovic. It was the only bright spot of the second half.
Despite four minutes of second-half stoppage time, the game ended with no further goals and a 1-0 victory for England. England’s performance didn’t live up to its reputation, as they only managed five total shots on goal.
After the game, UEFA published an interview with England manager Gareth Southgate. Speaking to the BBC, he said: “Serbia are a strong team. We struggled a little bit, but it was a good experience to get a clean sheet and a good win.” He was satisfied.
“It was a very important win for us. I was happy with the way the players played, especially in the first half, where we handled the ball very well. In the 사설토토 second half, we didn’t possess the ball as much as we needed to, but it’s important to get a win and get off to a good start.”
However, Kane’s lack of form is a concern. “Kane looks like a goalscorer in a good team, but he needs his own support,” said Football 365, adding, “In the last game, he didn’t hold the ball up properly. He needs to get down and make plays”.
“To be honest, there is a lot of talent in the England team. Kane is capable of playing well with Son Heung-min and Tottenham,” the publication said, adding, “The problem is that Kane is not performing well even when the rest of the attacking line is performing well.”