Harry Kane offers more to England than simply goals, says Kieran Trippier, who is not concerned about the striker's lack of touches in Sunday's 1-0 win over Serbia.

Jude Bellingham's goal was the difference as England recorded a hard-fought victory to open their Group C campaign, meaning they have started all four of their major tournaments under Gareth Southgate with a win. 

However, their performance attracted criticism from some quarters as England managed just five shots to Serbia's six, accumulating a total of 0.52 expected goals (xG).

Kane was a victim of the cagey nature of the contest, recording fewer touches (24) and successful passes (nine) than any other England starter. 

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at least doubled both of those tallies, having 48 touches and completing 25 passes.

Kane did go close to giving England a two-goal cushion in the second half as he saw a header tipped onto the crossbar by Predrag Rajkovic, but Trippier says he should not be judged purely on goals.

"Obviously it was difficult because they played five at the back, but what people don't realise is what Harry does off the ball," Trippier told reporters in the mixed zone.

"Of course, he scores goals but what he did for the team today was incredible, holding the ball up and bringing other players into play. 

"People just focus on goals with Harry but internally, as team-mates, we appreciate what he does off the ball."

England have, however, kept five successive clean sheets in group-stage matches at the Euros, the longest such run in the competition's history.

"I would say it's about managing the game," Trippier continued. "There will always be moments in games where the opposition will have a spell of 10 or 15 minutes of possession. 

"It's about being nice and compact and not conceding. We have got experienced players in the group like [Kyle] Walker, Harry, myself, players that can help the younger players manage the games. I thought we did that tonight."

Fans were hoping to see a free-flowing England display after watching Germany and Spain kick off with resounding wins, but their figure of 0.52 xG is the fourth-lowest of any team to have played at Euro 2024 thus far, after Scotland (0.02), Serbia (0.18) and Albania (0.51).

However, Jarrod Bowen – who teed up Kane's big second-half chance – is not worried about the performances of other nations.

"We are so focused on ourselves and what we can do, other teams are irrelevant. They are their countries and we are England," he said.

"We focus on ourselves and our focus was to win the game not because other teams won, but because it was a statement for us to win the first game going into Thursday.

"That was our mindset coming into this game and that will be it, full focus on us."

Serbia wing-back Filip Kostic is feared to have suffered ligament damage during his team's 1-0 defeat to England at Euro 2024, coach Dragan Stojkovic has revealed.

England made a winning start to their Group C campaign on Sunday as Jude Bellingham's early header was enough to decide a cagey game in Gelsenkirchen.

It was a challenge involving Bellingham that led to the end of Kostic's game, the Juventus man requiring treatment after falling awkwardly and being substituted after 43 minutes.

Serbia now face Slovenia and Denmark in their remaining group-stage games, but Kostic is a major doubt to continue at the tournament and could be set for a long spell on the sidelines.

"Kostic felt a strong pain in the outside part of his left knee and we fear that he could have ligament damage," Stojkovic said at his post-match press conference. "He will undergo medical tests on Monday, let's hope it's not as bad as it looks."

Though England held Serbia to just six shots (one on target) amounting to 0.18 expected goals (xG), Stojkovic felt his team deserved to take something from the match.

"We managed to corner the English team and I think we didn't deserve to lose," Stojkovic said. 

"I told my players I was proud of their performance and about everything but the result. Now all we can do is to rest and get ready for what is probably the most important match of the group stage against Slovenia."

Jude Bellingham "has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or", Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic insisted after his side fell victim to England's star midfielder.

Bellingham was the hero with his first-half header ensuring Gareth Southgate's side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024, as they edged out the Eagles 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.

The Real Madrid midfielder built on the momentum from his memorable debut season with Los Blancos, for whom he scored 23 goals and helped win LaLiga and the Champions League.

The second player after Michael Owen to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, he is also the first to do so for the Three Lions while playing his club football outside of England.

And Tadic, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Serbia's first match at the European Championship as a unified nation, paid tribute to the 20-year-old.

When asked whether he thought Bellingham was the difference in the Group C contest, the Eagles skipper told reporters: "Yes, definitely. I think he is a great player and a great personality. I think he has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or.

"I think everything that he did was great today, he showed personality, he took England to the next level. He was always asking for the ball and I think he had a great game.

"What I think is most important for such a young player is that he always takes responsibility. That is amazing to see, and you can see he is very hungry."

Jude Bellingham "has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or", Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic insisted after his side fell victim to England's star midfielder.

Bellingham was the hero with his first-half header ensuring Gareth Southgate's side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024, as they edged out the Eagles 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.

The Real Madrid midfielder built on the momentum from his memorable debut season with Los Blancos, for whom he scored 23 goals and helped win LaLiga and the Champions League.

The second player after Michael Owen to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, he is also the first to do so for the Three Lions while playing his club football outside of England.

And Tadic, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Serbia's first match at the European Championship as a unified nation, paid tribute to the 20-year-old.

When asked whether he thought Bellingham was the difference in the Group C contest, the Eagles skipper told reporters: "Yes, definitely. I think he is a great player and a great personality. I think he has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or.

"I think everything that he did was great today, he showed personality, he took England to the next level. He was always asking for the ball and I think he had a great game.

"What I think is most important for such a young player is that he always takes responsibility. That is amazing to see, and you can see he is very hungry."

Gareth Southgate said Jude Bellingham "writes his own scripts" after the England star sealed a 1-0 win for the Three Lions over Serbia.

The Real Madrid midfielder was on target in Gelsenkirchen to take his international tally to four goals, becoming just the second player to score at both the World Cup and Euros before the age of 21 in the process.

Bellingham timed his run into the penalty area to perfection to head Bukayo Saka's cross beyond Predrag Rajkovic, and put on yet another mature display way beyond his years.

"I mean he writes his own scripts doesn't he," Southgate told BBC Sport.

"The timing of his runs, it was a super bit of play in the build-up to the goal as well, and I thought at different moments all of our forward players looked dangerous."

Southgate maintained his record of winning the opening in all four of the major tournaments that he has been in the England dugout, with only Alf Ramsey having a better win rate at international competitions. 

England dominated the first half, but were forced to grind out the victory against a revitalised Serbia side following the interval.

Southgate feels the way in which the game played out was good for his team heading into the encounter with Denmark on Thursday, though.

"That's the reality of tournaments," said Southgate when asked if the victory was tougher than he was expecting. 

"They are a strong team, and we had to suffer a bit which I think is really good for us to come through and defend out box the way we did was important for the group. 

"We obviously had good chances to extend our lead and to kill the game which we didn't manage to take, so I was really pleased with a lot of the play, especially the first half."

England were limited to just five shots throughout the contest, with Harry Kane coming closest in the second half as he saw his header brilliantly tipped onto the crossbar by Rajkovic. 

Southgate referenced the difficulty of playing against Serbia's compact defensive rearguard, but was confident his forward line will be firing on all cylinders in the fixtures that follow.

"Today was just the finishing and a good save from the goalkeeper with the header towards the end. But that will come," he added.

"I am confident that we will score goals. We were playing against a back five which is not easy to create chances but we did and in the end, one was enough. 

"I liked the fact that we had to suffer a bit without the ball because I think that is an area we have worked on a lot this week, and we were obviously so much better than we were last week in doing that."

England had to hold out against Serbia, with Jude Bellingham's early goal proving enough for the Three Lions to claim a 1-0 win on Sunday.

That kick-started their Group C campaign, and a win over Denmark, who drew 1-1 with Slovenia earlier in the day, will see England progress to the last 16.

Elsewhere, the Netherlands overcame Poland 2-1 thanks to Wout Weghorst's late strike.

Using Opta data, we provide a run-down of the best statistics from day three of Euro 2024.

Serbia 0-1 England: Bellingham the main man for clean sheet kings

England were not exactly free-flowing for much of their clash with Serbia, but Gareth Southgate's team got the job done.

Bellingham was his hero, as he became just the second player ever to score at both the World Cup and Euros before turning 21, after compatriot Michael Owen.

Indeed, Bellingham is the first player to score for the Three Lions at both the World Cup and European Championships while playing his club football outside of England.

Finally, he became the first player to score for England at both the World Cup and Euros while playing his club football outside of England.

Yet it was at the other end that England had to hold their nerve.

Their defence has been questioned ahead of Euro 2024, but England have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last five group stage matches at the European Championships, the longest such run in the competition's history.

Indeed, England have won their opening game in all four of their major tournaments played under Southgate (Euro 2020 and 2024, World Cup 2018 and 2022), just one fewer such victory than across their other 23 major tournament appearances (W5 D11 L7).

Jordan Pickford pulled off a fine save late on to deny Dusan Vlahovic. The Everton star was making his 20th appearance for his country at a major tournament, a joint record for a Three Lions goalkeeper, matching Peter Shilton.

England would have been home and hosed if Harry Kane had not seen a header tipped onto the crossbar. The Bayern Munich star was making his 23rd appearance at a major tournament, seeing him become the outright leader in that regard for the Three Lions.

It was by no mean's a classic. In fact, this game featured just 11 shots, which is the lowest on record in a Euros game.

Slovenia 1-1 Denmark: Eriksen runs the show but Janza haunts the Danes

Christian Eriksen put the traumatic events of Euro 2020 firmly behind him as he scored in Denmark's opening match against Slovenia.

That was the 32-year-old's first goal at the Euros, as he became the oldest Dane to score for the nation at the tournament.

Eriksen created seven chances from set plays versus Slovenia, the most by a player in a game at the Euros since Scotland's Gary McAllister in 1992 v Germany (eight).#

Ultimately, though, Denmark could not get over the line, with Erik Janza rifling in a 77th-minute equaliser.

Janza has now scored three goals for Slovenia (11 appearances) with all three of his goals coming in competitive fixtures and with two of his three goals coming against Denmark.

Kasper Schmeichel may well have saved Janza's shot if it had not had taken a deflection on its way through.

Schmeichel, at the age of 37 yers and 224 days, became the second oldest player to play for Denmark at the European Championship finals (behind Morten Olsen - 38y 308d) and the oldest goalkeeper, overtaking his father Peter (36y 216d).

Slovenia are yet to win a match at the Euros (D3 L1), with their four fixtures the most any nation has played in the competition without recording a single victory, but this result keeps their hopes firmly alive.

Remarkably, all 10 of Denmark's starting outfielders recorded a shot in this match, only the third time a team has seen each of their outfield starters do so on record at the Euros (since 1980) after England v Spain in 1996 and the Netherlands v Italy in 2000.

Defender Andreas Christensen completed all of his 89 passes, meanwhile. It is the most passes any player has made while maintaining a 100 per cent accuracy in a match on record at the Euros.

Poland 1-2 Netherlands: Weghorst makes his point

Former Manchester United attacker Weghorst was not happy to be left out of Ronald Koeman's line-up, but he made sure to make his mark when he came on against Poland.

Weghorst scored the fastest goal by a Netherlands substitute at the European Championships, netting the winning goal of the game just two minutes and 18 seconds after coming off the bench.

His winner came after Cody Gakpo had restored parity in Hamburg. The Liverpool forward has scored in all four of his group stage starts for the Netherlands at major tournaments, and has now found the net in his first start at both the World Cup and European Championships.

Adam Buska put Poland ahead in the 16th minute, becoming just the fourth player for the country to score on his debut at the European Championships, after Robert Lewandowski (2012), Arkadiusz Milik (2016) and Karol Linetty (2021).

The Netherlands were ultimately decent value for their win, having had 21 shots – their most in a game at a major tournament (World Cup/EUROs) since 2012 against Denmark (32), although they did only accumulate 1.47 expected goals.

Harry Kane lauded Jude Bellingham as "unbelievable" after the Real Madrid superstar's early goal sealed a 1-0 win over Serbia at Euro 2024.

Bellingham opened the scoring as he headed home Bukayo Saka's cross to become the first player to net for the Three Lions at both the World Cup and Euros while playing his club football outside of England.

The midfielder also became just the second player ever to score at both the World Cup and Euros before turning 21, after compatriot Michael Owen, who did so at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

With plenty of pressure on the youngster's shoulders, Kane – who became England's record appearance maker in major tournaments – had nothing but praise for his team-mate.

Kane told BBC Sport: "He's an unbelievable player. "He deserves all the praise he is getting at the moment. 

"Just the way he plays and the confidence he plays with and also the way he affects games. 

"It's important for people playing in these positions to get goals and assists and that is what he does. It was a great run into the box, and he finished it off nicely."

Gareth Southgate's side had to withstand a wave of pressure from their opponents in the second half, but continued their run of winning their opening game in all four of their major tournaments played under his management. 

"We knew it was going to be a tough game," Kane added.

"Serbia pose some good threats, they were very physical with the long ball. 

"I thought we dealt overall really well. There was a spell in the first half when we were camped in our half a little bit, but overall I think we deserved the win and in the group, like I touched on before, it is all about getting through so it's an important win tonight."

England, who have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last five group stage matches at the European Championships, will book their progression from Group C should they defeat Denmark on Thursday.

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.

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.

Jude Bellingham became the second player to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, with the opening goal against Serbia at Euro 2024.

The Real Madrid midfielder opened the Three Lions' account in Germany, heading home Bukayo Saka's cross in the 13th minute of the Group C clash.

Bellingham followed in the footsteps of compatriot Michael Owen, who found the net at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship before turning 21.

The first European player to make an appearance at three major international tournaments before turning 21, the 20-year-old is also the first Three Lions player to score at both tournaments while playing his club football outside England.

His strike, timed at 12 minutes and 11 seconds, was also the quickest Serbia have conceded at a European Championship, since Frank Arnesen scored seven minutes and five seconds into their match against Denmark in 1984.

Jude Bellingham set another record as he started in England's opening match of Euro 2024.

Having been named, as expected, in England's XI for their first Group C fixture against Serbia on Sunday, Bellingham made history at kick-off.

The 20-year-old is the first European player to make an appearance at three major international tournaments before turning 21.

Bellingham made three substitute appearances at Euro 2020, helping England to reach the final, which they lost to Italy on penalties.

He subsequently made five appearances – all of them starts – at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Bellingham comes into Euro 2024 on the back of a fantastic maiden season at Real Madrid, having scored 23 goals as Los Blancos won LaLiga and the Champions League.

Harry Kane dreams of winning a major tournament with England to mark "the pinnacle of anyone's career", with the Three Lions star hoping to end his trophy drought at Euro 2024.

Bayern Munich striker Kane will lead his country out once more when Gareth Southgate's side open their European Championship campaign against Serbia on Sunday.

Having fallen short in the delayed Euro 2020 final against Italy, as well as World Clup semi-final elimination to Croatia in 2018, Kane is without international glory – and his lack of club success is much discussed, too.

Kane acknowledged his own shortcomings as the England captain aims for national success in Germany.

"I love playing for my country," he said at Saturday's pre-match press conference. "It means the world to me every time I step out onto the pitch wearing that shirt.

"To win a major tournament with England would be the pinnacle of anyone's career. That's the aim.

"For me personally, the trophies haven't quite happened yet, but it just makes me more determined and more hungry to go out there and do that.

"It starts with this summer, where we have a good opportunity. We have a lot of hard work in front of us, but that opportunity is there and I'm looking forward to making it happen."

Kane is England’s record goalscorer overall (63 goals) and their most prolific player at major tournaments (12 goals at World Cup/Euros).

He scored or assisted in all seven of his starts in qualifying (eight goals, two assists) and heads into this tournament after a fine club season with Bayern.

The former Tottenham forward scored 36 goals in 32 Bundesliga games for the most prolific debut campaign in the competition's history.

Yet international success is all that matters over the next month for Kane.

"Every tournament brings different expectations," Kane added. "We've earned the right to be classed as one of the favourites.

"In past tournaments, we've done a lot of things well and done the country proud but, ultimately, we're here to win it and there'll be nothing better for us and the nation itself than if we do that."

As for his own success, individual achievements are far from Kane's priority.

"Back in 2018, the Golden Boot was an amazing achievement, but that's always a consequence of winning games and trying to win the European Championship, which is what we're trying to do," he said.

"If I win the Golden Boot along the way, fantastic as I'm helping my team.

"We have some great goalscorers in the team, players who are on form, who've had fantastic seasons, so now it's about taking that into a major tournament." 

England have everyone in contention for their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia with Luke Shaw possibly able to appear from the bench, Gareth Southgate has revealed.

The Three Lions begin their fourth – and possibly final – major tournament under Southgate on Sunday, taking on Serbia in their first match in Group C in Gelsenkirchen.

Their preparations have been far from ideal, with Harry Maguire missing the tournament due to a calf injury and fellow centre-back John Stones battling a knock and illness.

Luke Shaw, meanwhile, has not played since February due to a hamstring problem, and was thought unlikely to feature until England's third group game against Slovenia.

However, Southgate has confirmed the Manchester United left-back is in contention to make the bench for Sunday's game, with Stones and the rest of his team-mates fully fit.

"Everyone is available. We have a decision whether Luke is a possible to use from the bench or not but everyone has trained today and is available," Southgate said on Saturday.

England are playing at an 11th edition of the Euros, racking up more games at the tournament (38) than any other team has managed without winning it.

As Southgate looks to end 58 years of hurt at major tournaments, he is breaking the competition down into a series of short-term targets.

"I'm hugely excited," he said. "To lead your country into a major tournament is an amazing honour. I'm very privileged. It's as exciting as it was ahead of Russia, if not more so. 

"In terms of our standing, you've seen Germany and Spain, there are a lot of good teams in this tournament. 

"We firstly have to progress through the group and then there's the opportunity to go further. Our focus is on qualifying from the group.

"When you’re trying to achieve exceptional things, you have to break it down into manageable chunks and the first priority is to get out of the group and work from there."

While many have written Serbia off ahead of the match, head coach Dragan Stojkovic is convinced his side are ready for the challenge of facing a tournament favourite.

"We should have maximum concentration and the quality at the maximum level, and I would not make a difference between the first, second or the third match, each of those matches are of extraordinary importance," Stojkovic told reporters.

"We know that we are starting against one of the favourites playing against England, but we have really done a lot to prepare as best as possible. 

"Trust me, they [the players] can hardly wait for the match to start, because physically and tactically at the same time, I am convinced that we are ready to face the challenges that come with England."

Dusan Vlahovic believes Serbia can take confidence from England's 1-0 defeat to Iceland ahead of their Euro 2024 opener in Gelsenkirchen. 

England concluded their preparations for the tournament with a disappointing display at Wembley, with Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson's early goal proving to be the difference.

Vlahovic, who scored 16 goals for Juventus in Serie A, is hopeful of carrying his goal-scoring exploits to Germany for Serbia's first European Championship as an independent nation.

The 24-year-old is set to feature in his second major tournament for his country, having been part of the side who suffered an early exit from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

And Vlahovic believes the Eagles can upset Gareth Southgate's side, who are among the favourites to win the competition. 

“No one is invincible,” Vlahovic said ahead of Sunday's encounter. “We looked at the match against Iceland and there are things that can be copied from them, because they beat them at Wembley in front of 80,000 people.

"Everything is possible. (England) are the favourites, maybe the biggest in the tournament, but we believe in ourselves and we are going step by step to present ourselves in the best light.

"This way we have a calmer environment and can prepare more serenely for the upcoming matches."

Following their encounter against the Three Lions, Serbia travel to Munich to face Slovenia before concluding their group campaign against Denmark. 

Looking to end 58 years of hurt, England get their Euro 2024 campaign under way against Serbia on Sunday.

Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate has suggested it may be a case of all or nothing as he enters his fourth – and potentially final – major tournament at the helm.

Southgate has transformed England from perennial underachievers to genuine contenders, overseeing a surprise fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Cup, then seeing the nation's old nemesis – the penalty spot – haunt them in the Euro 2020 final versus Italy and a 2022 World Cup quarter-final against France.

Penalty shoot-outs excluded, the Three Lions have only lost one of their last 18 games at the Euros (10 wins, seven draws), going down by a 2-1 scoreline in an infamous last-16 clash with Iceland in 2016.

Despite the same opponents inflicting another defeat upon England in their final pre-Euros friendly last week, the Opta supercomputer makes them tournament favourites.

They lift the trophy in 19.9 per cent of competition simulations, just ahead of France (19.1 per cent).

Serbia, however, will be looking to throw a spanner in the works on their first Euros appearance as an independent nation, with the presence of several capable attackers leading some to tout them as a potential surprise package.

Here, we delve into the Opta data to preview Sunday's game.

What's expected?   

England have started all three of their major tournaments under Southgate with a victory, and the Opta supercomputer is backing them to do so again in Germany.

They are given a 62.1 per cent chance of a win, with Serbia only triumphing in 16 per cent of scenarios and the spoils being shared in 21.9 per cent.

In the supercomputer's Group C predictions, the Three Lions are given a huge 95.4 per cent chance of reaching the last 16, finishing top in 66 per cent of simulations. 

Serbia advance in 56.2 per cent of projections, fewer than Denmark (69.2 per cent) but more than Slovenia (42.1 per cent). However, they are only given a 12 per cent chance of topping the pool.

This will be England and Serbia's first encounter since the latter re-emerged as an independent state in 2006. In fact, since the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, England have only faced Serbia and Montenegro once, winning 2-1 in a 2003 friendly.

The Three Lions are, though, unbeaten in their last six matches against Serbia or Yugoslavia, winning each of the last four.

Their most recent defeat to them was a particularly notable one, though, as Alf Ramsey's world champions lost 2-1 in the semi-finals of Euro 1968, a four-team competition that saw Yugoslavia finish as runners-up.

Attack the best form of defence for Serbia

With Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze competing to support Harry Kane, England's firepower is not in question.

Their ability to keep things tight at the back, though, just might be.

With Harry Maguire sidelined by a calf injury and Luke Shaw not yet ready to feature after recovering from a hamstring issue, Southgate will be forced to field a new-look backline on Sunday. 

Marc Guehi is expected to partner John Stones, and England need to recapture the solidity they displayed at previous tournaments under Southgate. 

Across the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and Euro 2020, England conceded just 0.59 goals per game and allowed opponents a paltry 0.72 expected goals (xG) per match – a figure only bettered by France (0.67) among the leading European teams to make each tournament. 

Should they fall short of those standards in Gelsenkirchen, the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dusan Vlahovic and Dusan Tadic are well-equipped to punish them.

Serbia have only managed five clean sheets in 25 competitive outings under Dragan Stojkovic, who took over in 2021.

However, they have only failed to score on two of those outings, against Norway (0-1 in the Nations League) and Brazil (0-2 at the 2022 World Cup).

Generally using a 3-5-2 shape and looking to isolate Mitrovic and Vlahovic against their markers, Serbia will pose a real physical test. They scored one third (five of 15) of their goals in Euro 2024 qualifying via headers, the highest percentage of any team to reach Germany.

The Three Lions must be prepared to withstand an aerial bombardment. 

Can Alexander-Arnold solve midfield conundrum?

Aside from Maguire's replacement, the main talking point in the build-up to England's opener has been the identity of Declan Rice's midfield partner.

Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo looked to be in pole position at the end of the domestic season, but reports now suggest Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold – who will don the number eight shirt – will start as first-choice.  

Alexander-Arnold has played a total of 25,078 minutes of competitive football for Liverpool, and only one per cent of those have come in central midfield, so playing the position at a major tournament could represent something of a baptism of fire.

However, Alexander-Arnold – who is accustomed to inverting into central areas at club level – could prove a useful asset as England look to prise open low blocks.

He ranked eighth among all outfielders for accurate long balls (147) in the Premier League last season and third for switches of play (32). If he can help to get the likes of Foden and Saka isolated against Serbia's wing-backs on Sunday, that could be key to opening the door.

Meanwhile, England are well aware of the importance of dead balls at major tournaments. They ranked either first or joint-first for goals from set-pieces at the 2018 World Cup (six goals), Euro 2020 (three) and the 2022 World Cup (two).

Since making his Premier League debut in December 2016, Alexander-Arnold leads all players in the division for set-play assists (20) and ranks joint-third for chances created from such scenarios (184). 

Maguire may be absent, but if Alexander-Arnold brings his dead-ball prowess to Germany, England will be a force to be reckoned with from corners and free-kicks.  

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Serbia – Aleksandar Mitrovic

Mitrovic, who is Serbia's all-time leading scorer with 58 goals in 91 matches, still looks sharp despite swapping the Premier League for the Saudi Pro League last year.

The former Fulham man plundered 28 goals in 28 league games for Al-Hilal in 2023-24, with only Cristiano Ronaldo – with 35 strikes in 31 matches – topping him in the scoring charts.

Under Stojkovic, Mitrovic has 21 goals in 23 competitive appearances for his country, with the majority of his goals coming via headers (52 per cent).

England – Harry Kane 

If England are to go all the way, they will need Kane to deliver in his new home country, after he saw a 44-goal debut season with Bayern Munich go unrewarded in terms of silverware.

Kane is also a proven operator on the international stage, scoring 12 goals across the last three major international tournaments – six at the 2018 World Cup, four at Euro 2020 and two at the 2022 World Cup. 

No European player has bettered that tally, with only France's Kylian Mbappe matching it.

He also scored or assisted on all seven of his starts in qualifying (eight goals, two assists), including a brace in an impressive 3-1 win over European champions Italy last October.

Nemanja Matic believes Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford's omission from England's Euro 2024 squad can only be good news for Serbia. 

Gareth Southgate confirmed his 26-man squad for the upcoming tournament in Germany on Thursday, with a number of high-profile names set to watch the Three Lions' bid for a first international trophy in 58 years from home. 

From the preliminary squad, James Trafford, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah, Harry Maguire, Curtis Jones, James Maddison and Grealish have all been dropped ahead of the Three Lions' final friendly fixture against Iceland.

Manchester United forward Rashford was not included in the initial 33-man party, having managed just seven league goals for Erik ten Hag's side this season.

He will miss his first international tournament since he was first called up to the senior England team in 2016. 

Matic, who retired from international football with Serbia in 2020, believes the absence of his former United team-mate – as well as that of Grealish – will only benefit his nation when they face England in their Group C opener in Gelsenkirchen on June 16. 

The former two-time Premier League winner wrote on X: "I would always like to have players like Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish in the team, players who can decide the game with one move! Not selected, good news for us."

Grealish has made 10 appearances in the last two major tournaments, nine of which came from the bench as he was deployed in the role of an impact player. 

All 36 of his England caps have come under Southgate, but a stop-start campaign with Manchester City saw the 28-year-old limited to 20 league appearances in 2023-24, after he provided five goals and seven assists as City won the treble in 2022-23.

Despite helping his side lift the FA Cup for a 13th time last month, Rashford was unable to replicate the form that saw him score 30 goals in all competitions during the 2022-23 campaign, meaning he will not be able to add to his 17 England goals in Germany.