Jude Bellingham doesn’t think so. He didn’t let Serbia force their way back into this game, nor did he let anyone get down on him or England’s march once the game was over.
He was told at the post-match press conference that while the first half against Serbia had shown why England were one of the favorites to win Euro 2024, the second half had exposed shortcomings that could ultimately be their undoing.
“I don’t quite agree with that,” said the 20-year-old, the goalscorer in England’s 1-0 win in Gelsenkirchen. “The first half showed why we can score against any team and the second half showed why we can keep a clean sheet against any team.”
Bellingham said there was “always a negative theme” in public and media reaction to England’s performances – “and sometimes there was” – but he preferred to highlight the positives.
He said they had to “hold on and suffer a little bit at times” in the second half at the Veltins Arena, but they won the game. “The team is still new and comes together every game,” he added.
He made some good points. It wasn’t so much about England proving anything by beating Serbia, it was more about how this was a new team and the desperation in some quarters to criticize the performance, especially every one of manager Gareth Southgate’s a chance.
(Christopher Lee-UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
It’s impressive to see such a young player speaking in such forthright terms, determined to challenge and reshape the franchise’s narrative. He doesn’t shrug and let reporters belittle his team’s prospects.
But it wasn’t as convincing as his typically confident displays on the pitch. England took the lead after half an hour’s play when Bellingham sprinted into the box and curled in a superb header from Bukayo Saka’s cross, but their early momentum petered out and again There is no recovery either. A passive second half; Serbian substitute Dusan Tadic said England “made demands of us”.
If this doesn’t seem to be a sign of a longer-term trend, all of this would be easier to gloss over. In seven and a half years, Southgate has changed a lot, but there have also been many times when his team gradually lost the initiative and retreated after taking control of the game.
Against Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, away to Spain in the Nations League later that year, against Italy in the Euro 2020 final, and again last year in Naples in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. . England still managed to win two of those games, but not the two most important ones when the stakes were highest.
(Michael Regan-UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
How far back do you want to go? They were eliminated by Iceland in the 2016 European Cup and by Italy in 2012. This was a theme at their 2006 World Cup in Germany, when they struggled to beat Paraguay in their opening game and had a similar experience against Ecuador in the last 16 before losing to Portugal in the quarter-finals. Here in Wolsenkirchen.
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There are technical issues with the type of midfielders England have, but it also seems to be part of the ethos of the national team. England faced Portugal and Brazil at Euro 2004 and Euro 2002 respectively, losing in the quarter-finals. ·As Erikson often said.
England had three shots on goal in the first half-hour last night and just two in the remainder of the game (Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long-range shot and Harry Kane’s header being pushed onto the crossbar). They had 71% of the ball in the first half hour, but only 44% in the rest of the game. While the drop isn’t as dramatic as last year’s qualifier in Naples (when England completed 233 passes in the first half and just 96 in the second), it’s still troubling.
The balance in the midfield was encouraging for the first 30 minutes, with Bellingham dominating the pitch, Alexander-Arnold’s passes looking short and long, and Declan Rice always on the move, always putting the ball in his hands. Simple things done well and always on the spot whenever possession is lost, very quickly.
But Alexander-Arnold’s influence gradually waned. The same goes for Saka, who was outstanding in the first half, and Phil Foden, who was quieter throughout. The balance isn’t right on the left, with Kieran Trippier at left-back and Luke Shaw trying to gain fitness, but the problem doesn’t stop there. Southgate blamed it on a loss of energy in the squad – “It doesn’t surprise me,” he said, “because a lot of players haven’t played 90 minutes recently.”
That’s often what happens in a team’s first game of the tournament. As the race progresses, getting out of the way quickly is more important than building momentum.
England have done a great job of this under Southgate. The last European Championship, when they faced Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic in the group stages before beating Germany, Ukraine and Denmark to reach the decisive final against Italy, is a case in point.
(Eddie Keogh – FA/FA via Getty Images)
That’s why Bellingham and his teammates deserve to enjoy victory here. “Looking back at our last few games, it was always crucial to get the first win,” Trippier said later. “It gave us a lot of motivation and belief. It spoke volumes about the boy’s character. We learned a lot today, but the most important thing was the three points.
Everyone who spoke subsequently – Southgate, Bellingham, Trippier, Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Kane – mentioned the character and resilience England showed in the second half. When the pressure comes, they defend well. Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Trippier and Rice all made important interventions, but perhaps the most enjoyable performance was that of Crystal Palace centre-back Mark Gueye, who proved His choice was correct.
Rice called it “a game of two halves,” but said “ultimately, I think it’s comfortable.” “We have built this team without conceding a goal,” he said. “At the last Euros we only had five out of seven games. We have real defensive stability and it’s about doing that on the night. Winning this game tonight is a great start for us .We just needed to take better advantage of the ball in the second half when things started getting tough.
This always seems to be a big issue for England: maintaining control of the game and not letting the initiative and momentum slip away. Rice spoke of the issue as if it would be rectified on the training pitch in the days leading up to their game against Denmark in Frankfurt on Thursday.
But sometimes it feels like it’s something in England’s DNA. Despite the undoubted progress the national team has made in recent years, Southgate and his players still need to overcome this issue. At the very least, they can look to address the issue from a position of strength after starting their campaign with a win.
(Above: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
