UEFA Euro 2024: England Off To Winning Start, Defeats Serbia 1-0

GELSENKIRCHEN: English prodigy Jude Bellingham scored an early goal to put England off to a winning start at the UEFA Euro 2024 held in Germany.

With this goal, the three lions secured a 1-0 victory against a decent Serbian side in the opening round match held in Germany's Gelsenkirchen.

The Real Madrid star put Gareth Southgate's team in the lead with a stooping header in the 13th minute at the Veltins Arena from Bukayo Saka's cross.

The build-up to the game had been overshadowed by concerns about violence between rival supporters. And some of those fears were realised when police rushed to separate brawling fans in Gelsenkirchen earlier in the day.

Social media footage showed men throwing chairs at each other outside a restaurant festooned with Serbian flags in the city, with conflicting reports suggesting English or Albanian fans were also involved.

The energetic English fans erupted in joy after England delivered the first blow in the match which eventually turned out to be the winner.

"It's a great start for me personally to get my confidence up and to help the lads get the win is the most important thing," Bellingham said.

English striker Harry Kane nearly doubled the lead in the second half only for the Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic to prevent it from going inside as he pushed Kane's far post header onto the underside of the bar.

Kane, who is also captaining the English side in this tournament, has set a new record for his country by making his 23rd appearance at a major tournament.

"It's a tough game. They are a tough team and have good players," the England captain said. 

"We stood up to it well and it is good to get the three points and (for us) to progress. It's good that we got the win today," the Bayern Munich striker added.

With this victory, England is currently placed at the top of Group C after Denmark drew 1-1 with Slovenia in an earlier game, with Christian Eriksen scoring three years after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field at the last Euros. 

England will lock horns against Denmark in their next match which will be played in Frankfurt on June 20.

Meanwhile, England was the finalist at the last Euros, going down to Italy on penalties in the final held at London's iconic Wembley Stadium.

ALSO READ: European Championship: Striker Wout Weghorst secures Dutch win over Poland

ALSO WATCH: