A flawless record continues, with some blemishes. Gareth Southgate’s England again won a tournament opening game, on the fourth of four such occasions. This occasionally awkward 1-0 win over Serbia certainly wasn’t to the level of Germany’s 5-1 thrashing of Scotland, and will raise new questions over what England need to do to get to that level. Jude Bellingham, naturally the match-winner, is one of the few parts of this team where there is absolutely no doubt. His early headed goal was the perfect illustration of that. Beyond that, though, Southgate has a bit to think about.
He knew that himself, of course. The England manager warned on the eve of the game that not every team would start like Germany, and made a point of stating the number of issues he has inherited going into Euro 2024.
