Anh 1-0 Serbia: Ánh sáng Bellingham ở EURO 2024

Bellingham Light

The enthusiastic crowd of England fans put their arms around each other's shoulders. "Hey Juuuuude...!" , "Hey Juuuuude...!" , they shouted in the style of The Beatles' immortal song.

There is every confidence that Jude Bellingham will have a special performance as England prepare to enter their EURO 2024 opener against Serbia.

Bellingham England Serbia 1 0.jpg — Bellingham's picture-perfect goal

The crowd filled a quarter of the Arena AufSchalke, but there were even more people singing "Hey Jude" and "It's coming home" scattered outside stadiums in Gelsenkirchen, Oberhausen, in Essen, and Dusseldorf.

For days, the British brought a lively atmosphere to the Ruhr basin, a contrast to the land that is home to some of Germany's old industrial cities, bounded by the three rivers Ruhr, Rhine and Lippe.

They appeared in white uniforms and flags with red and white crosses, partying on every rooftop, having fun while waiting for the big moment.

Mystical revelation. A faith that never dies. True English, for the brave.

The final game was played without much creativity. But crucially, the difference was made with a picture-perfect header to free England , who were being troubled by Serbia until the last seconds.

That picture, of course, belongs to Bellingham, who conquered Germany in his own way with Dortmund and has just enjoyed a season more spectacular than he could have imagined with Real Madrid.

Bellingham UK Serbia euro.jpg — Bellingham shines on England

Now, Jude returns to Germany to make his mark in his first start at a EURO (3 years ago, he was on the field 3 times and all from the bench).

Bellingham opened the ball from midfield to the right wing for Kyle Walker, then Bukayo Saka with a dangerous cross. Jude himself ran very fast, like a train, pushed Zivkovic away and headed the ball into the Serbian net (record for a headed goal in the history of the European Championship).

Southgate lacks ideas

1: Jude Bellingham became the first player to score for England in both the European Championship and the World Cup while playing for a foreign club.

20 years 353 days: Bellingham is the first European player to play in three major international tournaments before his 21st birthday. He played in EURO 2020, the 2022 World Cup and now EURO 2024.

Gareth Southgate said the EUROs were “a festival of football” in his pre-match press conference. But there was no festival of football over the 90 minutes.

Not wanting to leave his favorite student Alexander-Arnold on the bench, Southgate placed Liverpool's right-back in the midfield role, next to Delan Rice.

Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton, the younger players who have emerged as central midfielders, have been benched, which is a huge handicap when England need to play the ball proactively.

Alexander-Arnold has always had a natural tendency to drift to his favourite right flank. As a result, England lacked a pure midfielder, in a game where Serbia were heavily deployed in the middle of the pitch.

England win in worst attacking match since EURO 1980

Southgate ’s setup meant England failed to get their first passes right. When they got to the final third, where Serbia were waiting with a well-organised defence, it felt like Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane were overlapping each other too often.

In other words, they had no idea how to break down the tight defence around the Serbian penalty area. Bellingham's goal was simply a moment of individual brilliance.

Looking at the squad, England are probably the most talented team in Europe. But the system Southgate has built overshadows Foden - the best player in the Premier League in 2023-24, as well as isolates captain Harry Kane (he has just 1 shot, 12 passes with 75% accuracy).

At the back, the brilliance of John Stones, Walker and above all Declan Rice kept England on their toes. Had it not been for Arsenal's most expensive midfielder, Serbia would have surely equalised.

Bellingham rescued the Three Lions in a match with the worst attacking quality at a EURO finals since 1980: only 11 shots, 5 from England and 6 from Serbia.

Vietnamese football fans can fully enjoy the UEFA EURO 2024 Finals for free on TV360 at: https://tv360.vn/

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Jude Bellingham's 13th-minute header was also the only goal to earn England three points against Serbia in their opening Group C match of EURO 2024.

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