Bellingham’s header gives England the lead and electrifies Veltins-Arena. Southgate makes a switch, swapping Bowen in for Saka to inject additional energy and enthusiasm into his side.
Serbia are an unpredictable opponent with stars such as Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic up front, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Nikolija Jankovic playing central midfield roles and Predrag Rajkovic and Nikola Milenkovic also in their ranks. Here we will discuss the main points of Serbia National Football Team vs England National Football Team Lineups.
England XI: Pickford
Gareth Southgate will start as favourites to win Group C matchup against Serbia at Gelsenkirchen but face an equally potent team that boasts numerous attacking options – especially Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandr Mitrovic who could pose serious threats to an inexperienced English defence while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Luka Jovic can break open their defence from midfield positions.
Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka will start for England alongside Declan Rice, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Phil Foden as Southgate looks to maximize talent within his squad. These midfielders will be joined by striker Harry Kane as well as supporting players Luke Shaw, Mainoo and Bowen.
Serbia have scored 33% of their qualifying goals through headers, and will seek to take advantage of England’s defensive vulnerabilities at Veltins-Arena – particularly since Harry Maguire will no longer be available to defend the air space effectively for them. Expect an aggressive physical encounter on Wednesday.
Walker
England are generally keeping Serbia at bay at Veltins Arena, though their dominance isn’t absolute. Guehi produced an exquisite sliding tackle to dislodge Vlhaovic and set off a counterattack led by Rice playing into Alexander-Arnold for him to drag his shot wide of goal.
Southgate could make further changes – Cole Palmer or Eberechi Eze would be good options on the right-hand side of midfield – but it is hard to overlook Bellingham and Foden who have been instrumental for England this season – they will look to make an impressionful statement against an organised Serbia team at Euro 2024 opening matchup.
Stones
England’s back three are doing an admirable job of dealing with Serbia’s threat. A mix-up between Rice and Walker allows a pass into danger zone that Mitrovic could intercept but he was unable to do so.
Gareth Southgate appears eager to attack, with both Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden making good use of their attacking midfield berths in midfield. Unfortunately for Gareth Southgate, Serbia are an extremely tough team to break down and are slowly starting to assert themselves, creating some early nerves among Southgate’s team.
Kieran Trippier possesses the intelligence to limit Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as an alternate left-back, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Rice offer plenty of industry to the midfield duo that could frustrate hosts. On the right side, Bukayo Saka and Jordan Henderson could form strong partnerships before Southgate introduced Cole Palmer for Saka in order to provide energy retention and ball retention.
Guehi
Jude Bellingham’s first-half header gave Gareth Southgate’s side an early edge against Serbia at Arena AufSchalke for their Euro 2024 opener, although Dragan Stojkovic and Co pushed hard throughout.
Former Chelsea midfielder Nathan Ake has been an impressive performer for Palace this season and could become an important asset for England in this tournament. Ake has played alongside Guehi for some time in the Premier League and spoken highly of his defensive qualities.
Saka charges down the right and cuts in an aggressive ball, but it is headed away by England defenders and Kane shoots wide as England break away again. Southgate makes his substitution with Gallagher replacing Rice as they attempt to find an avenue through the middle but are denied by strong opposition defenders and drop ball occurs for England.
Rice
Serbia entered Gelsenkirchen having lost both of their warm-up games 2-1 against Austria and 3-0 against Sweden, but still possess strong attacking qualities. Dragan Stojkovic’s squad boasts Aleksandar Mitrovic of Inter Milan fame as well as Juventus winger Dusan Vlahovic as proven goal scorers.
England could make the semi-finals with an experienced squad. Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka, Manchester United forward Luke Shaw and Leicester City striker Cole Palmer all possessing the ability to make an immediate impact off the bench; along with Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice and Phil Foden.
Southgate will likely continue with his experiment of fielding Trent Alexander-Arnold alongside Declan Rice in midfield, though if additional energy and creativity is desired he may opt to bring Kobbie Mainoo or Conor Gallagher on as replacements in midfield.
Alexander-Arnold
As expected, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham’s clash will provide plenty of entertainment during Saturday’s match at Old Trafford. Not only is this match between two England’s most promising young talents but it will also serve as a microcosm for Alexander-Arnold’s future at an out of contract club like Arsenal.
Dragan Stojkovic will pose England with several dangerous options when facing them in Group C of this tournament, such as Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic from Lazio; Sergej Milinkovic-Savic of Lazio providing guidance in midfield; Nikola Milenkovic from Fiorentina will partner Predrag Rajkovic of Mallorca to secure defensive duties; while Zivkovic, Lukic, Gudelj and Kostic provide additional cover. They are highly experienced at Group C level having won two out of their three pre-tournament matches already; therefore providing physical challenge against England! England have won both their three pre-tournament games before entering Group C on three points!
Saka
England are in full control, yet Serbia are continuing to penetrate Pickford’s box. Guehi produced an outstanding sliding tackle to dislodge Vlahovic and kickstart a counter which led to Foden passing wide to Alexander-Arnold who managed only an ineffective shot wide of the far post.
Southgate may have made his Arsenal winger an unexpected inclusion, but will hope they use his pace and directness to disrupt Serbian defences. Bellingham, Foden and Kane could form an attacking three-man midfield formation alongside him.
Southgate made his initial change a forced one when Liverpool defender Jordan Henderson replaced an injured Luke Shaw with Kieran Trippier as cover against Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as stand-in left back, and Gallagher having the industry to overpower a weak opposition central midfield.
Bellingham
England will face Serbia in a key test for their new-look defence as they aim to overcome a team which scored one third of their Euro 2024 qualifying goals via headers. Jordan Pickford may feature heavily, with Arsenal goalkeeper likely starting alongside Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham in three-man defence while Trent Alexander-Arnold could start in midfield.
Guehi made an excellent sliding tackle to take out Vlahovic and launch England into an attacking spell, ultimately sending Alexander-Arnold wide for a shot that flew wide over the bar. Foden won a foul but his free kick was blocked before Bellingham was replaced with Kobbie Mainoo; we now enter four minutes of additional time.
Foden
Gareth Southgate plans on fielding his strongest squad when England take on Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on October 26. Phil Foden will likely feature after enjoying an exceptional campaign with Manchester City where he scored 19 goals and provided eight assists – scoring 19 and providing 8 respectively.
Southgate will hope his side can put behind them their demons from Euro 2020 and achieve a top four finish for one final tournament appearance under their guidance.
Serbia are an extremely potent team with an abundance of talent in the final third. Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic both pose serious threat, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio) plays an integral part in their squad. Additionally, Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic and Lazio’s Predrag Rajkovic standout among them; making the former Yugoslav nation dark horses for this tournament.
Kane
England recover possession following Serbia pressure with an Arsenal player’s header just missing its target – an impressive effort nonetheless from 20-year-old.
Gareth Southgate has chosen youth as his strategy in attack and it seems to be paying dividends. Jude Bellingham started his third game this tournament and showed great composure while linking with Harry Kane for an assist before scoring a goal.
Dragan Stojkovic faces some difficult selection decisions up front with Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic competing for first-choice position in his forward line. Furthermore, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Lukic offer threats from midfield. To contain England’s attack he may need to change tactics by employing man-to-man defense instead.