‘Spirit on show’

England coach Gareth Southgate says his team defended well as a unit despite suffering during 1-0 win over Serbia; insists road ahead v Denmark and Slovenia won’t be easy

Gareth Southgate insisted England would benefit from “suffering” in a tense finish to their 1-0 win against Serbia at Euro 2024 on Sunday. 

Southgate’s side made a lively start in Gelsenkirchen as Jude Bellingham headed them into the lead after 13 minutes. England were in complete control until half time, but lost their way after the interval and needed key saves from Jordan Pickford to hold on in their Group C opener. 

It was hardly the eye-catching performance expected of the pre-tournament favourites, especially after hosts Germany laid down a marker with their demolition of Scotland on Friday. 

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Gareth Southgate

But Southgate was adamant England could take pride from the way they kept Serbia at bay. “We had to suffer a bit which I think is really good for us. To defend the box the way we did was really good for us,” he said. 

“I was really pleased with a lot of the play. Second half we didn’t keep it as well as I would have liked but to get the win is very important. Pleased we had to show a different side and show a resilience to defend our box because as a group that builds a spirit. We defended very well as a unit,” he added. 

Southgate conceded England have room for improvement after their inconsistent performance. But he said he never bought into the hype that had England installed as the leading contenders to lift the trophy in Berlin on July 14. “We can be more efficient in the way we played in the first half which will also help us moving forward,” he said. 

“This team is still coming together. Everyone is expecting us to waltz but there is a lot of hard work ahead. We’ve had a very complicated run in to all of this but the spirit of the group was on show tonight,” he added.

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