Euro 2024: England win 1-0 against Serbia in group-stage opener

  • Beers were flying in south London when Jude Bellingham put England 1-0 up, Sam Holder reports on the fan reaction right after the game

England have secured their first win in their Euro 2024 group stage opener against Serbia in Germany.

Gareth Southgate's squad, who were the favourites, started in dominant fashion - with an opening goal within 13 minutes. Bukayo Saka crossed for Jude Bellingham to make it 1-0.

Southgate's starting eleven came with a few surprises. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice played centre midfield, and Jude Bellingham played further forward.

But with Serbia arguably on top after the break, Southgate abandoned the Alexander-Arnold experiment and Conor Gallagher was brought on in his place.

Serbia pushed them deeper and deeper in search of an equaliser that never came as Southgate’s side held firm to secure a 1-0 victory.

England manager Gareth Southgate at the England-Serbia Euro group-stage opener Credit: PA

England are now top of the table for their group, after Denmark and Slovenia drew earlier.

They are next in action against Denmark on Thursday, before travelling to Cologne to face Slovenia in their final group stage fixture.

Meanwhile, Scotland suffered defeat in their opening match of the Euros, losing 5-1 to Germany in Munich.

Ahead of the match, German police made a number of arrests in Gelsenkirchen city, where the game was played.

The UK's Football Policing Unit said: "Our German colleagues have made a number of arrests of what we currently believe to be Serbian supporters.

England fans ahead of the Euro game against Serbia Credit: PA

"At this stage we do not believe that any UK nationals have been arrested but enquiries are ongoing.

"Our officers are at the location speaking to German colleagues.

"Our investigation team is now reviewing footage of the incident and if any UK nationals have been involved, football banning orders will be sought.”

Local police had also labelled the fixture as "high-risk" after reports earlier in the week of Serbian ultras making their way to the region.

England suffered heartbreak in the final of Euro 2020, losing a penalty shootout to Italy.

Up to 500,000 British supporters are expected to travel to support either England or Scotland over the course of the tournament, according to the Foreign Office.

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