Jude Bellingham continued his remarkable season, scoring the only goal as tournament favourites England laboured to a 1-0 win in their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia. Coming off La Liga and Champions League glory in his first Real Madrid season, Bellingham ran into the penalty area to meet Bukayo Saka’s cross from the right with a thumping header in the 13th minute. The narrow win in Gelsenkirchen put the 2021 runners-up top of Group C, after Denmark and Slovenia drew 1-1 in the other group game.
That game was marked by an emotional goal for Christian Eriksen. Three years after suffering cardiac arrest in the opening match of the previous Euros, Eriksen had a magical return to the tournament when he scored Denmark goal in the 17th minute. In the third game of the day, the Netherlands squandered a host of chances before overcoming Poland 2-1 with Wout Weghorst scoring with his first touch on 83 minutes after replacing the wasteful Memphis Depay.
After impressive opening wins by Germany and Spain, England looked to make a statement but after an excellent start were unable to power on. Serbia had their moments against an at times passive England, with Aleksandar Mitrovic firing inches wide right after a big mistake from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the first half, and Dusan Vlahovic’s 82nd-minute blast tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. At the other end, Kyle Walker’s cross after a stunning run down the right did not find a team-mate, goalkeeper Predrag Rajko.
