A better second half performance from Serbia left England struggling but an early Jude Bellingham goal was enough for England on Sunday night. Here are the players’ ratings…
Jordan Pickford
I had a great seat in the first half as Jude Bellingham was leading the game, then in the second half Dragan Stojkovic actually had to do a bit of a job at half time as he hit the players with a hairdryer.
In the final 45 minutes, he too often lacked the right options with the ball, eventually being forced to pass it to Harry Kane, who was being manhandled by Serbian beast Nikola Milenkovic. The struggles made these passes merely redundant means of giving the ball away.
Pickford only had to make one save – a spectacular dive to tip Dusan Vlahovic’s long-range shot over the bar, but it should never have been lost from that distance.
Kyle Walker
An initial exchange between Walker and Filip Kostic didn’t go well for the Englishman, who was hoping to get to the line and cross for Vlahovic or Aleksandar Mitrovic. It didn’t happen again as Kostic was forced off injured early on, but it certainly wouldn’t have cost Walker that much if he had stayed in the game.
“He could have scored or assisted a goal after charging forward to close the space left by Bukayo Saka. He’s a really quick player and his speed got him into that situation. As always, the end result left Walker disappointed.”
Walker’s defence was solid, but much of Serbia’s threat came from the left flank.
The speed of Walker’s recovery has allowed Gareth Southgate to play Saka closer to the front line, creating a different relationship between the Arsenal winger and Benjamin White – one with less support, less complexity and more freedom for Saka to do what he wants.
Read: Jude Bellingham’s England beat Serbia (finally): 16 conclusions to an unnecessarily tense opening match
John Stones
The Manchester City centre-back had a tough start to the game when he missed a header under pressure from physically powerful striker Vlahovic, before sliding in with a dogged header to win the ball back – such courage was needed against the striking duo of Vlahovic and Mitrovic.
Stones has done well considering his poor form this week and it’s always good to keep a clean sheet.
Mark Guehi
Harry Maguire’s physical presence was truly remarkable at times, but Guehi was never tested by the physically superior Serb, and Vlahovic once got the better of Guehi, dribbling past the Crystal Palace centre-back and sending a low cross for Mitrovic that failed to score.
Guehi didn’t misplace a pass in the first half, but he did lose the ball once with a heavy touch that could have been punished if Declan Rice hadn’t slotted the ball in well to close the gap Serbia wanted to expose. That heavy touch came while attacking and defending on the front foot, and it would have been fine had the touch not been so excitedly delivered.
Every time England lost the ball Serbia were caught off guard but Guehi will be grateful for the rare occasions when he was not punished for losing possession and Southgate will be pleased with this centre-back pairing.
Kieran Trippier
His positioning early on was largely on the left wing but Southgate has indicated he is happy for Phil Foden to drop inside and receive the ball between the lines, and that’s how he thrived for Manchester City in the second half of the 2023/24 season. The more Walker dropped back to form a back three with Stones and Guehi, the more free he was to move higher up the field. The form is good and Trippier is a big part of that.
There may have been a scary moment when Mitrovic was taken down in the penalty area by a tackle from Trippier, but in the end it was nothing serious and is something you see in every game – a big man like Mitro should not be taken down by the little Trippier.
Defensively, there was a moment when Trippier completely misread a rebound, but thankfully Serbia were once again unable to capitalise.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold
Thankfully, the boring defending is over. There wasn’t much to analyse compared to the other six players in the England team. No goals conceded. Relative inexperience. A few shaky moments in possession. You get the idea. And so on and so forth.
In England form, Alexander-Arnold sat at opposite right-back, his natural role at Liverpool, but as he settled into the game he was all over the place, with Declan Rice keeping his place in the back four.
It was a satisfying performance from a midfielder who everyone was waiting for to fail. After Bellingham’s opener, England’s best chance came from a superb interception from Trent, showcasing his often-disastrous defensive ability. Given the freedom to join in the attacking phase, Trent impressed with a bold ruckus to win a free-kick that should have been much more effective.
A couple of small passes to Saka, a Hollywood pass and Trent doing well on the ball apart from a brief moment when he lost control close to his own box. Mitrovic mis-controlled the ball but smashed it wide of Pickford’s post. Alexander-Arnold came on for Conor Gallagher in the 69th minute.
Declan Rice
When people say, “He’s a seven out of 10 every week,” performances like this are what they’re talking about.
He covers when the centre-backs are out of position, always seems to be in the right place to retrieve the ball, and does the simple things well every time, which is easier said than done.
His long legs have fascinated us for years, and when necessary he uses them to steal the ball from opponents, as he was forced to do on several occasions against Serbia.
Bukayo Saka
Saka has caused concern about his condition and has been the scapegoat for many in the Cole Palmer furor, but his performance in the 76 minutes he played was strong.
He was (sort of) responsible for the first goal, but it probably won’t be recorded as an assist given how decisive the block by the Serbian defender was.
The first half was superb. Saka would have been England’s best player if it hadn’t been for Jude Bellingham’s total nastiness. He gave Liverpool’s Trent dream options, overpowered Strahinja Pavlovic and was too quick and direct for him.
First half was good. Second half was not so good. Pavlovic woke up after getting his ass kicked at half time. Was much more aggressive with less respect for Saka. All in all, a positive performance from someone who is so important to the England national team, whether he wants to admit it or not.
Jude Bellingham
Wow. Where do I even begin with this girl? She looks like she’s approaching 30, but she is. She’s only 20. This is a total and utter disgrace.
Against Serbia, Bellingham was free to do whatever he wanted. And what did he want? Just anything. From winning tackles to firing off 40-yard passes, he was the best player on the pitch and had his best individual half-time so far at Euro 2024.
Kane was less involved and Bellingham dropped deep to pick up the ball and took on the frustrating task of making something happen – which, believe it or not, makes a lot more sense when done by a No. 10.
He picks up the ball everywhere and the only way the Serbian players can get close to him is to foul him. Having been kicked around since he played for Birmingham City at 16, he takes it all in stride. He roams the pitch as if he were playing in front of a goal in south London, unfazed by anything.
It’s great when you get a result that lives up to your expectations 45 minutes into a tournament. I have no words to praise this player enough.
Phil Foden
It was one of his quieter nights but it bodes well for the role he played within England’s system. He was very close to Kane as Southgate gave him free reign. Unfortunately for him and England, he just couldn’t stamp his authority on the game.
Harry Kane
It was a difficult night for Kane, who only touched the ball twice in the first half, the first after 18 minutes. Surprisingly, England fans should be very excited about this. Kane certainly has good passing ability, which some fans appreciate, but it’s often frustrating when England need the striker in the penalty area and then he drops back in front of goal and is nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps this change, with Kane playing goalkeeper and Bellingham on the ball, could be the key to England winning major tournaments.
The most entertaining moment of the night was when Kane finally got the ball out into space, only for a very promising pass to Saka to be intercepted by the referee.
His close-range header was denied by a superb save and hit the crossbar, and Milenkovic wasn’t there to outdo the Bayern Munich superstar, but you could tell when Kane threatened the Serbian defender and raced over to meet Jarrod Bowen’s ball.
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Conor Gallagher (69 mins)
He came on for Alexander-Arnold and put his body on the line, but he did little to restore the composure that an under-pressure England side needed in the closing stages.
Jarrod Bowen (76 min)
Coming off the bench, he made an immediate impact with a superb cross to send Kane heading home.
Kobe Mainu (86 min)
Bellingham gave up his official debut late in the game, despite winning tackles and getting past the Serb, and was keen to see it through to the end.
His efforts to lead England to victory have been a talking point and we can expect to see more of him this summer.
