Foden’s performance against Serbia was uncharacteristic and one of the reasons why the Three Lions lost control of the game after taking the lead
England got off to a winning start in their European Championship campaign for only the second time in 11 campaigns. However, their 1-0 win over Serbia in Gelsenkirchen didn’t feel like a result worth trumpeting.
Jude Bellingham was outstanding, scoring the only goal of the game and leading England in almost every area of the pitch. Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka also played well, as did Marc Guehi, who was making his first appearance in the tournament. But after such a good start, England fell into a familiar trap of not knowing what to do next and ended up leading for much of the second half.
Phil Foden’s lacklustre performance was a cause for concern. The Manchester City midfielder has almost never lost the ball in club competitions, but he was generous in this game, handing the ball to Serbia on several occasions in the second half.
England were able to get away with it thanks to a couple of misses from their opponents, notably former Premier League goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic. But they will need to step up their game if they are to go far in the tournament and live up to their title as pre-tournament favourites.
Winner: Jude Bellingham
Even a week before the Champions League final, Bellingham had the European Championship on his mind. It was no surprise, then, that he was outstanding in his first game of the tournament.
Bellingham played with a competitive and combative spirit as if it were a final, and that spirit was on full display when he chested Filip Kostic on the touchline. He kept demanding possession but also helped in defence, and was unfazed by Dusan Vlahovic’s elbow, as he scored a goal shortly afterwards, a vicious header.
Bellingham, of course, had started the scoring, passing the ball to Kyle Walker. He deservedly was named Man of the Match; expect more such awards at the end of the tournament.
Loser: Phil Foden
You have to feel sorry for Foden. Despite having an incredible season, scoring 27 goals and winning two major individual awards, he was overshadowed by Custom Jude Bellingham football shirts winning the Champions League with Real Madrid.
Foden’s recent achievements would have made him a talisman for almost any other team at this European Championship, but Bellingham is the leader of this team. Even so, Foden needs to improve after this rusty performance.
The Manchester City midfielder didn’t have his best performance for England in the first half, and he was too casual with the ball in the second half, losing the ball eight times. His passing statistics are not bad, but they are still far behind Bellingham: he passed 57 times, while his teammate passed 70 times, with an accuracy rate of 86%, while the Real Madrid player’s accuracy rate is 96%.
It won’t be easy for Foden, because Bellingham occupies many of the positions he would most like to play. However, barring injury, the boy from Birmingham isn’t going anywhere, so he had no choice but to learn to link up with Bellingham.
Winner: Bukayo Saka
Saka was booed by Serbian fans when he first got the ball, and they were right to be wary of a winger who could tear apart the Serbian defence whenever he was on the pitch. The Arsenal man had endured a tiring season at the club, and there were concerns about whether he would be fit enough for his England debut.
But he quickly dispelled any doubts about his sharpness, beating Stracinja Pavlovic in the opening minutes. He continued to cause chaos every time he took the ball, with the opening goal unsurprisingly coming from Saka’s cross, albeit with the help of a deflection.
Saka faces stiff competition for his spot on the right from Jarrod Bowen, who did well when he came on as a second-half substitute, and Cole Palmer. But here he proved that he should always start whenever he is fit.
Losers: England’s game management
There was a familiar feeling as England struggled to hold onto their lead in the second half. Southgate’s side have been there before in major tournaments, too, when they’re ahead and don’t know what to do next.
The 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia and the 2020 Euro final against Italy were the most painful examples, and there was a sense of déjà vu when Serbia suddenly powered after halftime and England didn’t know how to respond. They employed the same tactics they employed in those games: passing the ball forward and then quickly losing it.
Foden was the main culprit, but Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier also played some loose passes that were intercepted. Southgate responded by bringing on Conor Gallagher, who gave England more energy but couldn’t solve the problem of losing control. Sending on Kobe Maino earlier would have been a better move.
After the defeat to Iceland, there was talk that England’s opponents would follow suit and wait for the Three Lions to attack, but Denmark and Slovenia will know that England are still vulnerable even if they concede a goal first.
Winner: Kyle Walker
The BBC released a new podcast on the eve of the tournament, called “You Can Never Beat Kyle Walker”, praising the Cheap Manchester City football shirts defender’s recovery speed and ability to control the world’s best strikers.
Walker’s status as the best one-on-one defender is well deserved, but the cost is that his attacking ability is limited. However, it is also a reminder that he can still be excellent in the final moments.
Walker combined with Saka to assist Bellingham’s goal, and then the right-back quickly broke down the right wing and took up a dangerous crossing position, but no England attacker tried to meet his cross.
With Trippier’s poor performance at left-back, England have to rely more on Walker as an attacking threat, and they should consider using him in this way again as the game progresses.
Loser: Aleksandar Mitrovic
Serbian dangerman Mitrovic should have enjoyed the clash against a number of former Premier League opponents and went into the match with ferocious form, scoring 32 goals in as many games as Al Hilal won the Saudi Professional League title and the domestic cup.
But his performance was disappointing on this occasion. He had a great chance in the first half but failed to hit the target. Andrija Zivkovic passed the ball to him after robbing Alexander-Arnold but the ball went wide of the near post and was completely misplaced. His only other notable contribution was a futile attempt to win a penalty after being brought down by Trippier.
This was too much for coach Dragan Stojkovic, who replaced Mitrovic with Luka Jovic seconds later, and Mitrovic’s game ended after just 61 minutes.
