England enjoy plenty of possession, and Alexander-Arnold gets his foot to a free-kick which falls at his feet; unfortunately his shot goes wide of goal and Gudelj commits a foul against Jude Bellingham to incur a yellow card.
As Foden wins a foul for the home side and attempts to press forward, fans roar in celebration as play slowly breaks down as Southgate’s men keep control.
Timeline of Serbia National Football Team vs England
England get off to a promising start as Foden passes to Alexander-Arnold who looks to drive forward but his shot goes wide. Kane then exchanges passes with Milinkovic-Savic but their Liverpool midfielder misses his finish across goal.
England continue their patient possession as they recycle the ball well. Foden attempts to create something with an inviting cross, but is denied by a Serbian defender and his attempt at creation fails.
Guehi made an outstanding sliding tackle to dislodge Vlahovic and spark an England counter. From the ensuing set piece, Walker played an exquisite pass to Saka who crossed for Bellingham to power in a header goal.
Serbia are content to wait and hit England on the break, but the hosts’ patience pays off as they win a free-kick on the edge of the box and play it into Bowen who then blocks and clears it.
There were loud boos at Veltins Arena as England were forced to punt clear, providing an early setback to their hosts who have kept possession well and sought to expand on their lead.
Foden’s great cross was deflected away for a goal kick by Rajkovic and England continues to enjoy possession in their final third.
England have made their initial change of the evening as Gallagher replaces Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool winger was an immediate threat throughout, so now he gets his chance to show his abilities and impress England’s fans.
Team news
After their disappointing World Cup and Euro 2024 qualifying campaign in Qatar, England are hungry for victory against Serbia. Gareth Southgate may make changes to his side that lost against Iceland; Luke Shaw may return from injury.
Serbia will hope to rebound from their opening defeat, buoyed by Dusan Vlahovic’s return from injury; however, their long-ball approach and lack of true full-backs leaves their defensive system vulnerable.
Starting slowly on both sides, we are coming into halftime with no clear cut chances from either team. Serbia have had more shots with Mladenovic shooting his cross just over the bar while Bellingham has had one chance which was denied him by Trippier’s blockage.
England will attempt to exploit their set-piece weakness when the second half begins, using their array of attacking options to at least score once. But any failure to tighten up in defence could prove costly as England are expected to finish top of their group.
Bukayo Saka replaces Jarrod Bowen for England, providing more direct play from England’s attacking midfield. Southgate makes one further change by dropping Ramsdale from the bench for Alexander-Arnold; furthermore Gudelj was booked after taking out Foden and is replaced with Mainoo as England maintain their possession but struggle to penetrate a well-organised Serbian defence.
Preparation
England have never faced Serbia as an independent nation before but Dragan Stojkovic’s side are a dangerous proposition on home turf. Although far from complete, they punish any mistakes at the back and their 3-0 victory against Sweden in pre-tournament friendlies demonstrated this perfectly.
Aleksandar Mitrovic’s goal in that match was his fifth of the season – as he hopes to make amends for missing Euro 2024, and could prove an important source of goals in France next summer. Alongside Dusan Vlahovic and Luka Jovic, these Juventus forwards can cause Gareth Southgate problems on a consistent basis.
After an uneventful opening to the match, England gradually assumed control of possession but were unable to convert their chances against Serbia’s defensive efforts. With Saka’s excellent pass into Walker setting him off in the right direction and his cross being deflected past Pickford for an opening goal and well-deserved lead, England started dominating possession but struggled to convert their possession into goalscoring opportunities. Eventually Serbia got on the scoresheet themselves thanks to Walker scoring off an offside decision against England at their own goal!
Jude Bellingham ended England’s first-half dominance with an incredible goal as she burst through into the six-yard box to power home an outstanding Saka cross – just reward for their first half dominance which, while bright at times, failed to translate into scoring opportunities.
Stay informed from all the action at Stadion Arena AufSchalke with our live match centre. You’ll have access to team and player statistics, expected goals data, an Opta chalkboard and much more – simply click on one of the tabs at the top of this page and begin! Track build-ups and key moments as they occur while discovering who might start as well as watching highlights of previous matches!
Schedule of Serbia National Football Team vs England
The Three Lions will face Serbia in their Euro 2024 group match and it is sure to be an intense encounter. It has been 21 years since England last met Serbia in an official football fixture; after they regained independence in 2006. Gareth Southgate will likely field players such as Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane and Phil Foden against Dragan Stojkovic’s revived side – an expectation Gareth Southgate himself has voiced publicly on several occasions.
Veltins-Arena was relatively quiet at first as both teams exchange possession and look to establish attacking positions. England fans were in good voice though and it was great news when Bukayo Saka’s deflected cross found Jude Bellingham for what became the opening goal!
Serbia appear intent on running down the clock, with Vlahovic beginning their initial counter-attack by running down the right before crossing. But England are showing plenty of composure as they win a free-kick that they immediately send long to the back post.
England are playing with greater confidence and increasing their adventurous approach, however they still need to convert their dominance into goals – the chances just don’t appear. England could benefit from more strength in depth as subs come on such as Gallagher and Bowen who are struggling against Serbia’s fast forward line.
Matchday
Gareth Southgate has selected an impressive squad, boasting numerous young talents who could prove pivotal to England’s success at Euro 2016. Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka should look forward to testing a Serbian defence that struggled in qualifying. However, Dragan Stojkovic will certainly exploit any vulnerabilities present for their opponents to take advantage of.
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic will pose England problems, despite a 2-0 win against Switzerland in their opening match. With two points separating second-placed Denmark from second-placed Serbs in Group E2, Stojkovic may opt to keep things tight by choosing whether to sacrifice midfielders to maintain his front line intact.
After Kostic goes down injured, Panathinaikos’ Filip Mladenovic comes on to replace him – potentially signalling Tadic’s return to starting lineup after making such an impression upon returning from injury.
England make their free-kick count and Trent Alexander-Arnold hits it long but his shot flies wide of its target. England look for an early goal but Serbia’s defensive units hold firm and prevent this happening.
