England kick off their Euro 2024 campaign against Serbia, who finished second in their qualifying group behind Hungary. England must take note of Serbia’s physicality and height; one third of their qualifying goals came through headers.
Southgate selects Marc Guehi and John Stones to start together on defense for Southgate’s opening match, after both Manchester United defenders overcame ankle and sickness issues to play in this matchup.
Football Team Lineups
England have named an entirely strong squad to face Serbia in Group C opener Gelsenkirchen, led by Gareth Southgate’s attack-minded side which should create plenty of havoc against Serbia’s defense. Find the Serbia National Football Team Vs England National Football Team Lineups.
The Three Lions should field an effective backline, led by John Stones and Kieran Trippier as co-captains. Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa provide sufficient depth at centre-back while Trent Alexander-Arnold can fill in at left back if needed.
Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham will combine well with Phil Foden in midfield. Together they should be able to breach Serbia’s defence and create chances for forwards; Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon should provide additional energy off the bench. Meanwhile, Serbian manager Dragan Stojkovic has plenty of attacking options available, with former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic as potential starting forwards; Dorde Petrovic and Sasa Lukic could all play leading the attack for Serbia – while Serbia have also included Dorde Petrovic and Sasa Lukic as potential options in front of goal.
Serbia National Football Team
The Serbia National Football Team is a professional football association representing Serbia. Affectionately known as The Eagles after their nation’s coat of arms with two-headed white double eagles, this professional team competes in international competitions under its current name while building significant commercial and sponsorship relationships.
The squad features an impressive array of talent, such as Juventus star Dusan Tadic and Arsenal legend Aleksandar Mitrovic. Additionally, Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic vies with Mallorca’s Predrag Rajkovic for starting position, along with Torino’s Vanja Milinkovic-Savic to start.
Serbia began their Euro 2024 qualification campaign well, winning 2-1 at home to Moldova to top Group D before defeating Austria, Georgia and Ireland to qualify. Unfortunately however, a controversial home defeat to Albania resulted in them not qualifying for play-offs despite all efforts.
England National Football Team
Gareth Southgate will have nearly his full squad available to him for England’s Group C game with Serbia at Veltins Arena despite an illness scare to John Stones, but Serbia could prove an enormously difficult test of endurance for England.
Southgate will likely opt to deploy his 3-4-2-1 formation for England’s Group C match against Serbia. He should be pleased that Kyle Walker has recovered from an ankle injury to rejoin John Stones and Harry Maguire at centre-back; Marcus Rashford provides another option in this regard; Eric Dier offers further cover.
At 76 minutes, England make another change as Saka is replaced by Bowen. I would have preferred Palmer as his energy would add something new to the team; however, Southgate may want to keep possession in their own half and recognizes Serbia are tiring of their opponent.
What formation is England in Euro 2024?
Gareth Southgate has successfully assembled an England side that exudes talent and maturity – something they hope to demonstrate against one of this year’s underdogs – Serbia in Euro 2024’s opening matchup.
Guehi made an outstanding sliding tackle to disarm Serbia’s forward. England were back on attack, moving well from Foden to Alexander-Arnold – with Alexander-Arnold winning a corner that was taken but Rajkovic punched clear of it.
An intense opening period saw both teams looking to establish themselves early. England were more aggressive, as Walker delivered an outstanding ball to Bukayo Saka who was met by Ilic’s incredible challenge but failed to reach his byline before his cross was blocked and cleared away by Ilic. Later, Foden wasted another opportunity by missing his shot inside the area.
Who scored England vs Serbia?
Gareth Southgate’s side are in control, with fans vocal in support. Foden’s cross is headed home by Jude Bellingham for his maiden England goal.
Gudelj is replaced by Ivan Ilic in Serbia but his left-handed delivery proves ineffective and Bellingham clears it – dealing a devastating blow to their visitors.
England’s aggressive play is beginning to pay dividends as they win another free-kick in Serb territory. Alexander-Arnold finds Saka, who holds up before crossing, but Rice’s header deflects back into Rajkovic’s arms.
Guehi was hit hard by Dusan Vlahovic in a late tackle and could have been sent off, yet chose not to play on. England handled long balls well while dealing with physical threats from Vlahovic and Mitrovic effectively enough that their lead is well deserved.
Also read: Denmark National Football Team Vs England National Football Team Lineups
Final words
After the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia, its national team was renamed and reformed; however, its national anthem did not change from that used during Communist rule – something many fans found unfavorable.
Before beginning their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign in late March, the national team played several friendly matches to gain experience before commencing its qualifying campaign against Albania and Macedonia respectively. Although they began well, with an opening win over Albania but then suffering an unexpected setback against Macedonia later on. Next two matches for Serbia were drawn, including a 1-1 home draw against eventual group winners Italy which left them needing to beat Slovenia away and qualify for play-offs; unfortunately this proved impossible and Radomir Antic was fired after just two matches as coach; Vladimir Petrovic soon replaced him and led an impressive campaign in UEFA Nations League competition with Serbia.
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