One Jude Bellingham header is enough
Jude Bellingham heads England to an Euro opening win against Serbia. The fans sing the Beatles classic "Hey Jude" - but England take the music out of the game too early.
Sven Haist at Arena Auf Schalke, Gelsenkirchen
For anyone who missed the concerts of the British band of the century, The Beatles, in the 1960s, the England football fans on Sunday evening gave an impression of what it must have sounded like back then. The supporters repeatedly belted out the beautiful classic "Hey Jude" as a tribute to Jude Bellingham, who had previously scored England's first goal of the tournament in the opening game against Serbia. The 20-year-old is already kicking as exceptionally well at times as the Beatles used to make music. He is also predicted to have a global career. The Real Madrid midfielder volleyed a deflected cross into the net in the thirteenth minute, his first European Championship goal. Even an exceptional player has to start from scratch.
Jude Bellingham acquired his goalscoring ability after moving to Real Madrid last season. In 42 competitive matches, he was involved in 36 goals because his club coach Carlo Ancelotti established him as a playmaker in the absence of a striker. England's unpretentious national coach Gareth Southgate adopted this template and gave the young star comparable freedom when in possession of the ball. Southgate, 53, hardly dares to experiment with tactics in his eighth year in charge and has always let success speak for itself. Against Serbia, his team achieved their fourth opening victory in the fourth tournament under his leadership.
One more win could be enough for England to win the group
The ultimately laborious 1:0, in which England tried to manage the game far too early and thus brought the inferior Serbs back into the game, continued the series of victories for the favorites on the first matchday. Captain Harry Kane's header over the bar in the second half failed to make the win any clearer in a game with few chances and spared his compatriots a nervous final phase. The draw in the parallel match between Slovenia and Denmark means that the Three Lions will probably need just one more win to progress to the round of 16 as group winners.
In the early stages, England's superiority was as conspicuous as the number of England fans in the stands. In the first half hour, Southgate almost only got up from his seat to celebrate the goal. His players offered the spectators in Gelsenkirchen, where FC Schalke 04, which has slipped into the second tier, usually plays its home games, some appealing combination football. It was also a small compensation for the arduous journey many fans had to make. The streetcar line to the stadium had been closed for a while two hours before kick-off due to congestion. A massive backlog formed at the main station.
England thought the job was done after the lead - like Bellingham
But after taking the lead, England clearly felt their work was done and there was hardly any music in the team's play. It was more a reflection of the performance of key player Jude Bellingham, who confined himself mainly to defending the lead in midfield. He probably didn't have the strength to make any further eye-catching advances, having recently been involved in the Champions League final. He was substituted shortly before the end - to the applause of the fans.