Win at Gelsenkirchen won’t mask glaring issues for Gareth Southgate’s side.
By: Olumide Akinyemi (Chief Editor) Twitter: olu_herodotus Instagram: olu_herodotus
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
At the end it didn’t matter whether it’s a comfortable win or not, England got over the line with 3 points in the bag against a Serbian team that only started to threaten after 45 minutes of football.
If this was indeed the final chance for Gareth Southgate to win a trophy with England then he might pray Jude Bellingham turns out a performance like this every game until the Final. This was a game that previous England teams could have easily thrown away for a draw but for a certain 20- year old Real Madrid player who has shown over the past season that he can deliver both against the best and the underdogs.
![](https://onsidefooty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/serbia_v_england_group_c_-_uefa_euro_2024.jpeg)
Admittedly Southgate realized how unbalanced his midfield was by starting Trent-Alexander Arnold in that role before replacing the Liverpool man with Conor Gallagher but make no mistake, this was a game which Bellingham dictated from the off and capped by a brave header to put England ahead from a Bukayo Saka’s cross.
It summed up how important he was with Harry Kane barely getting a touch in the first half before finally hitting the target with a header which was superbly saved by the Serbian goalkeeper. By that stage the game had descended into an all out attack by Serbia in their bid to snatch a draw and although Guehi and Stones held tight, there are still a bit of indecisiveness in this defence with Stones especially making a hash of a clearance later in the game.
![](https://onsidefooty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2f2e.jpg)
Hopefully England will learn to close out games later in the tournament but if they are going to keep winning by slimmer margins like this, then they might need a better case for defence.