Serbia 0-1 England: Bellingham gives Three Lions winning start at Euro 2024

By Sports Desk June 16, 2024

Jude Bellingham was the hero as England launched their Euro 2024 campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.

The Real Madrid midfielder's stooping header opened the Three Lions' account in the 13th minute of Sunday's Group C clash.

England ultimately held on to make it four wins from four opening matches at major tournaments under Gareth Southgate, though Serbia were by far the better side in the second half.

That being said, Harry Kane almost doubled England's lead, with Predrag Rajkovic tipping brilliantly onto the crossbar from the striker's header, with his opposite number Jordan Pickford making a fine save from Dusan Vlahovic to keep Serbia at bay at the other end.

Euro 2020 runners-up England quickly settled into their rhythm and their positive start was rewarded when Bukayo Saka's cross deflected up and into the path of Bellingham, who duly powered home.

The Three Lions survived a scare seven minutes later when Aleksandar Mitrovic fired narrowly wide of Pickford's left post after a mistake from Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield.

However, they went close to doubling their lead soon after as Kyle Walker raced in behind the Serbia defence on the counter, but he dragged off target. 

England did not flow as freely after the break, and Serbia swiftly established their dominance, albeit without overly testing Pickford.

Dusan Tadic's introduction only increased the pressure on England's defence, and fellow Luka Jovic snatched at a good chance, though Southgate's team would have had a second if not for Rajkovic's wonderful reflex stop from Kane in the 77th minute.

The Three Lions had Pickford to thank for pushing Vlahovic's snapshot over eight minutes from time, before Kane made a vital block, but England got the job done.

Three points for Three Lions, but too close for comfort

England's last visit to Gelsenkirchen ended in penalty shootout heartbreak, when Sven-Goran Eriksson's team were knocked out of the 2006 World Cup in the quarter-finals by Portugal.

Bellingham had only just celebrated his third birthday. Fast forward nearly 18 years, and the Madrid superstar ensured the Three Lions' next visit to Arena AufSchalke provided happier memories with his thumping header eventually proving enough to seal the points.

England's dominant start faded and they were holding on a little towards the end.

Nevertheless, they managed to see out a 12th victory at major tournaments since the start of the 2018 World Cup, the joint-most by any nation during that time (level with France).

Meanwhile, the Three Lions became the first team in European Championship history to keep five consecutive clean sheets in the group stages of the competition.

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    Lautaro Martinez struck a dramatic late winner as Argentina beat Chile 1-0 to secure their place in the Copa America knockout stages with a game to spare.

    The reigning champions looked like they would have to settle for a point on a frustrating night at the MetLife Stadium, having failed to turn their superiority into the game's opening goal.

    But substitute Martinez, who also netted from the bench in his nation's opener against Canada, finally broke Chile's resolve when he lashed home two minutes from time.

    It moved Lionel Scaloni's side onto six points at the Group A summit - three points ahead of Canada, who beat Peru 1-0 earlier in the day - meaning a draw against Peru in their final game will be enough to secure top spot.

    Argentina dominated the first half with 13 unanswered shots, yet just three of those were on target. One of them saw Julian Alvarez fire straight at Claudio Bravo from close range in the 22nd minute.

    Lionel Messi also went close to scoring in the 36th minute. La Albiceleste's skipper let fly with a fizzing 25-yard attempt that clipped the outside of Bravo's left post, while Erick Pulgar almost turned Nahuel Molina's cross beyond the Chile goalkeeper two minutes later.

    La Roja had Bravo to thank for keeping Argentina at bay, as the reigning champions continued to carry the greater attacking threat after the break.

    The veteran stopper beat away Molina's fierce strike within five minutes of the restart, and just after the hour mark, he produced a superb reflex save to tip Nicolas Gonzalez's drive onto the crossbar.

    With the breakthrough still eluding the world champions, Scaloni bolstered his attack by introducing Angel Di Maria and Martinez for the final 17 minutes.

    Chile had increased their own attacking threat by registering their first attempts on goal in the contest, with Rodrigo Echeverria calling Emiliano Martinez into action on both occasions.

    Yet, there was to be a late twist in Argentina's favour when an 88th-minute corner broke kindly for Martinez, who reacted the quickest to fire into the roof of the net and send La Albiceleste through to the quarter-finals.

    Persistence pays dividends for Argentina

    The recent history books would suggest Argentina should fancy their chances against Chile.

    This is epitomised by the fact they are now unbeaten after 90 minutes in the last 13 meetings, winning eight of those, but that does not tell the full story.

    Seven of those eight victories have only been by a single-goal margin and, of course, they lost on penalties in the Copa America final showdowns of 2015 and 2016.

    Though they dominated most of this contest and registered 22 shots to their opponents' three, just the one goal was enough once more - with both of Martinez's strikes from the bench in this competition coming in the 88th minute.

    Argentina progress to the Copa America knockout stages for a 14th consecutive time, excluding when they withdrew from the 2001 tournament.

    Toothless La Roja resistance finally broken

    Chile looked set to frustrate Argentina once again at the Copa America, and hold out for a second successive clean sheet.

    Their defensive resolve - along with an inspired performance by Bravo between the sticks - looked like it would remain firm and keep the reigning champions at bay, until Martinez's late intervention.

    What will be more concerning for La Roja is the fact they have now gone four successive Copa America matches without scoring, while having to wait until the 72nd minute for their first attempt on goal today.

    That is something they need to address quickly ahead of their crucial final Group A clash with Canada, in which a victory could still see them snatch second place and a quarter-final spot.

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    Jonathan David scored the only goal in Kansas as Jesse Marsch's side boosted their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages from Group A.

    The Lille striker struck 16 minutes from time to move the Canucks up to second place behind reigning champions Argentina, who beat them 2-0 in their opener, with 26 of his 27 international goals coming in competitive matches.

    It gave Canada only their third victory over a South American opponent, and first since a 2-0 win over Colombia in the 2000 Gold Cup final.

    They also kept their first clean sheet against a team from the CONMEBOL region since holding Brazil to a goalless draw in the 2001 Confederations Cup.

    "We're going to enjoy the moment, but know the work isn't done," skipper Davies told Canadian broadcaster TSN.

    Stephen Eustaquio added: "We were too naive in the first half, but played more direct in the second half."

    Canada's first Copa America victory came in their second match, with Panama the only CONCACAF nation to achieve their maiden win in their opening match in the competition - doing so eight years ago.

    Marsch's side face Chile in their final group encounter on Saturday, when a draw may be enough to take them through to the quarter-finals.

    "We have everything to fight for in the last game," David told TSN.

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    Gareth Southgate pleaded for England's supporters to "stay with the team", after venting their frustration following the goalless draw with Slovenia.

    The Three Lions advanced to the Euro 2024 knockout stages as Group C winners, despite winning just one of their opening three games and scoring two goals. 

    Southgate's side, who came under scrutiny following their 1-1 draw with Denmark, did little to silence those critics with another underwhelming performance against the Slovenians.

    Despite dominating large periods of the contest with 74% of possession, it yielded an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.87, with the front three of Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden registering just two shots on target between them.

    Sections of England fans jeered their team at the final whistle, while hurling empty drinks cups in the direction of Southgate as he applauded them.

    The Three Lions boss empathised with the supporters, but urged them to point the finger of blame at him, rather than his players.

    "I understand it. I'm not going to back away from it," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "The most important thing is the supporters stay with the team.

    "I understand the narrative towards me, and that's better for the team than it being towards them. But it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. I've not seen any other team qualify and receive similar.

    "[The players] kept composure in a game where they've come into a really challenging environment. Of course, we'd love a couple of goals that sends everybody home happy. But we were definitely an improvement on what we did in the last game."

    "I think the changes we made had a positive effect on the game tonight. We weren't able to find the right pass, the final finish. But we are improving."

    Despite the disappointment at their performance levels, England have managed to avoid the half of the draw that includes the likes of France, Germany, Spain and Portugal.

    The Three Lions will play either the Netherlands, who finished third in Group D, or Group E's third-placed side in the round of 16 in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday.

    And Southgate knows a positive atmosphere within the camp will be crucial as the Euro 2020 finalists target another deep run in this competition.

    "You never want to look back having not topped the group and spiral into tough matches where people can then accuse you that, because you didn't win the group, you've ended up with a tougher draw," he added.

    "We have made England over the last three or four years fun again. I think it has been enjoyable for the players, and we have got to be very, very careful that it stays that way."

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