ENGLAND V SERBIA

It's a 30-minute game for England.

The starting XI Southgate chose was as predicted, with a median age of 26.9. This young team was strong against an aggressive contact team that did not let England win without a fight. Trent Alexander-Arnold, who usually plays at Right Back, started in the midfield, as it was hard to fault Walker in that position. Alexander Arnold created mistakes with a loose ball, reducing the intensity and allowing Serbia to apply pressure.

Well, technically not, but it sure did feel like that. Going ahead in the 13th minute, unlucky for some, came from the golden boy Jude Bellingham, with a rendition of “Hey Jude” by the Beatles echoed the stadium. In the first 30 minutes, England turned up, and for a glimmer, we saw the team that made it to the final on home soil three years ago. We hope this wonder kid keeps his head screwed on and does not get into any trouble like previous younger players who have been thrown into the spotlight at major competitions, like Zidane and Beckham, to name a few. His maturity and pedigree in Europe for Dortmund and winning the triple with Real Madrid in his debut season have the strength of two men in the 20-year-old body. 

 With one goal leader, the English team disappeared. Kane only made one touch in the first half, and no one could find Foden on that pitch. Where is the Foden who scores so many goals for his club when his country needs him? Can he perform without the guardianship of Pep Guardiola? The outstanding player in the first half was Saka on the right, able to get past the defenders in his way. Sakas deflected powerful cords and set it up for an impressive opener for England in this euros. Bellingham threw himself on the line to score his header, the only goal from the game. Marc Guehi, who replaced Harry Maguire, the 23-year-old in his first major senior tournament, had a somewhat faultless performance. When Bellingham left the pitch near the end of the game was given a standing ovation from the England fans. This player has a lot of pressure on his back as a new idol for young England fans. However, he’s soaking up the attention and ensuring his football speaks for it.

Second half

This was a cagey end-to-end, nervy 45 minutes for England supporters, with Serbia coming out with drive and taking to at half time. Our second-half hero was Jordan Pickford, who made long-reaching punches and saves, keeping a clean sheet. It was unusual to see Harry Kane defending, but he did just that with an impeccable header away from goal, something he’s not used to doing and saving England again, although Pickford would have got it, it’s believed. There were chances in the second half from Kane, who was off by inches with a header from Bowen, which crossed the box superbly; however, it was tipped over the top to hit the top bar by the Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic. Pickford made a late save from Serbia's Dusan Vlahoivic.

However, there were a lot of faults to talk about in this game. We hope Southgate will take that and try to get Trent and Foden in the game and make sure Saka can maintain that first-half performance in the second half, as he found it hard to get past fresher legs on the right in the second half and was beaten. The defence is getting much better. However, Trippier is not a left-footer and, therefore, struggles, meaning less joy on England's left-hand side. So, hopefully, with the boost of the possibility of Luke Shaw being fit enough for the Denmark game on Thursday, we can. Declan Rice, like Kane, was selfless in playing where they were needed and defended, but the arsenal player had a close goal in the first half, missing it by centimetres, which you could see on his face was agonising.

Remain at the top of the group due to Denmark drawing Slovenia earlier on Sunday. Denmark is likely, on paper, our most challenging competition in this group; however, Slovenia, who have not seen much tournament football in their time, gave Denmark a run for their money with a 1-1 draw.

One last note: it was a full circle for Eriksen, who returned to the euros three years after collapsing on the pitch with a goal. What a way to return like it was written in the stars.