EURO 2024: Serbia vs England Live
Preview: Serbia vs England
Serbia vs England at the Veltins-Arena on Sunday at 7:00pm, will start the Three Lions’ journey to overcome their sorrows of Euro 2020. Both teams have not won the Henri Delaunay Trophy since the tournament began, and Denmark and Slovenia are also expected to be tough opponents in the group stage.
Both Serbian players and fans had high hopes before Dragan Stojković’s first tournament as their manager in the previous World Cup, but they were left disappointed with only one point. Despite this, confidence remains high in the Serbian team following their convincing 3-0 victory over Sweden in their recent warm-up match. Serbia is known for their ability to score goals easily, with talented players like Luka Jović, Aleksandar Mitrović, and Dušan Vlahović. In their previous major tournament, they scored more goals than any other team in their group, including Brazil, but still did not advance. However, even just one victory could be sufficient for Serbia to progress from the group stage of EURO 2024.
England, the runners-up from Euro 2020 have had a typically turbulent preparation for the tournament with mixed results in friendly matches. However, there is a sense of cautious optimism as the team boasts some of Europe’s top talents like Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane. Southgate, who has led England to two semi-finals in three tournament appearances, has expressed that he sees this as his final opportunity to win something as the team’s manager. After breezing through the group stage without conceding a goal in their first attempt at this tournament, there is optimism that the Three Lions can progress smoothly into the knockout stages.
Head-to-head
England emerged victorious in the only previous head-to-head encounter with a 2-1 win in 2003.
Prediction
One-third of Serbia’s goals in the qualifiers were scored with headers, the highest percentage among the 24 teams at Euro 2024. With England missing their key player Harry Maguire in the air, it is likely that Jordan Pickford’s goal will be scored against at least once at the Veltins-Arena. Despite England’s lackluster attacking performance against Iceland, manager Southgate now has the option to field a nearly full-strength lineup and is expected to see his team step up and secure three points in their opening match.
