JUDE BELLINGHAM was England’s head boy as Gareth Southgate’s side made a winning start in Germany.
The Real Madrid superstar oozed class throughout and broke the deadlock with only 13 minutes played thanks to an excellent header, dispatching Bukayo Saka’s deflected cross.
It was a repeat of the World Cup in Qatar, when Bellingham netted England’s first goal of the tournament – also with a header.
That match was against Iran and Southgate’s men ended up comfortably seeing them off 6-2.
But it was a bit nervier here in Gelsenkirchen as Serbia exerted significant pressure in the second half, with a few narrow escapes for Southgate’s men.
England dropped back deeper and deeper and lost the control they had had in the first half.
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But ultimately they got the three points required – and just their third clean sheet in their last eight games.
Here is how SunSport rated England’s display in their opening game of the Euros.
Jordan Pickford – 7
Did not have too many saves to make, in truth, but then was alert to cracker of a strike from Dusan Vlahovic late on.
Marshalled his defence throughout with his usually vocal approach. His distribution, particularly with long balls, continues to be an asset.
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Kyle Walker – 7
Delicious ball in behind from England’s vice captain released Saka in the build-up to our opener.
The Manchester City man probably should have had a goal of his own too when racing in behind, but he tried to tee up one of Harry Kane or Phil Foden instead and found neither.
John Stones – 6
OK display from England’s most experienced centre-back, who just about cleared a dangerous cross late deep into first-half stoppage time.
Had missed training on Wednesday due to a stomach bug, confessing he felt utterly dreadful, but this result will have perked him right up.
Marc Guehi – 7
Looked anything but the weak link in England’s defence that many had portrayed him to be in the build-up.
Crystal Palace man Guehi was sharp against two top strikers in Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic, fully justifying Gareth Southgate’s faith in him.
Kieran Trippier – 7
The Newcastle man may not be the tallest but he still won plenty of high balls with some brave headers. He offered real width at times, flying up the left-hand side, despite naturally being a right-back.
Declan Rice – 8
A mature and disciplined performance from one quarter of England’s leadership group that also includes Harry Kane, Walker and Bellingham.
Rice played in front of the defence, unlike the No8 role he has had of late for Arsenal, and was a calming presence when mopping up throughout.
Trent showed he’s a central character for England… he deserves to keep spot, says Wilshere
THIS game felt a bit like an audition for Trent Alexander-Arnold in centre midfield, writes SunSport columnist Jack Wilshere.
I think he passed it and deserves another chance to show all the qualities that he can bring to the role.
I was pleased when I saw Trent in the starting line-up.
It’s a little bit braver than we have normally seen from Gareth Southgate and I like that.
It was: ‘Go on, go and play!’ It didn’t necessarily work out like that but that wasn’t Trent’s fault.
Southgate was experimenting with him in there, seeing if it worked.
If we get later in the tournament against the big teams, you will need someone who has played in there a few times and understands the position a bit.
The combination between Trent, Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka is a promising one.
You see Trent naturally drift over to that right side and receive it almost like a full-back.
It’s interesting what happens then with Walker.
He was still getting involved in and around the outside, which was good to see, and it was Walker who got forward to help create the Jude Bellingham goal.
That link-up is something we need to exploit more. We should probably have used it more last night as well.
At the start, he was a little bit shaky. He gave the ball away a couple of times, and one of them led to that decent chance for Aleksandar Mitrovic.
When he plays for Liverpool he comes inside. But it’s different when you’re in there from the start. It’s 360 degree pressure, from all sides.
I always found international football that bit quicker. You’ll often receive it with your back to the game and you’ve scanned, but you need to get more on the half turn to see what’s coming.
But it was difficult for Trent, especially in the first half, for him to show his range of passing. When you’re playing against a back five, with four in front, and they’re stubborn and just waiting . . . it is very hard.
There’s no space in behind, they’re very tight and organised.
And when the ball is going over your head, your job then becomes jumping on second balls, disrupting and trying to shield the big two up front.
Trent’s positioning was good and he made some good interceptions. I think he can — and should — hold on to the ball a bit more, draw the pressure, and then play the ball forward.
If someone comes to him, that frees up space for someone else. And he and Declan Rice have the ability to find Bellingham and Phil Foden through the lines. I would like to have seen more of that. As the game opens up, Trent is a player who can pick the right pass.
Especially in transition, like he did with a lovely one down the side for Saka in the first half and another early in the second.
It was also good to see him get forward for a decent long-range shot.
But Trent was not helped by England’s performance in the second half. We weren’t aggressive enough, we didn’t press well enough.
Trent’s audition lasted just under 70 minutes in the end. I believe it is something Gareth should persist with.
He is more than intelligent enough to work it out. And as the tournament goes on, I’m sure he will be fine in there.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
An all-action display from Liverpool’s hybrid full-back, who started in the middle of midfield.
One particular first-half interception almost sparked a goal for Kyle Walker – though Trent was also a tad fortunate at one pont when his miscontol was not punished by Mitrovic who fired wide.
Jude Bellingham – 9
What a player and what a privilege it is that we get to call him ours.
Starting his third major tournament aged just 20, the Real Madrid superstar proved he belongs on this stage with a masterful performance which included a brilliantly brave header to give England the lead.
Bukayo Saka – 8
England’s best player on the night after Bellingham, Saka was electric down the right hand side, having his opposing defender on toast several times.
It was his deflected cross which assisted Bellingham’s opener. Was taken off with 15 minutes to go, having recently come back from a groin injury.
Harry Kane – 5
England’s captain – and darling of Germany after his incredible impact with Bayern Munich this season – had a quiet game.
He must have thought he had killed the game off when rising for a late header, but it was brilliantly tipped onto the crossbar.
Phil Foden – 5
Not at his sharpest. The Premier League footballer of the year had a few moments where if his touch and passing had been on point then it could have led to something, but they were not.
The curious case of how to translate his Manchester City form to England continues.
Subs
Conor Gallagher (for Alexander-Arnold, 69) – 6
Came on to try to shore things up after sustained Serbian pressure in the second half.
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Jarrod Bowen (for Bukayo Saka, 76) – 7
Surprisingly it was the West Ham man given the nod when an impressive Saka was replaced. But Bowen made an instant impact teeing up Kane for a header, which was brilliantly tipped onto the bar.
Kobbie Mainoo (for Jude Bellingham, 86) – 6
Manchester United youngster, like Gallagher, came on to help see it out.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
