Sunday, November 17, 2024

All you need to know about England v Serbia as Three Lions begin quest for glory

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England will get their Euro 2024 campaign up and running against Serbia this Sunday evening, live on talkSPORT.

The Three Lions enter the competition in Germany among the favourites but come into their opener following defeat to Iceland.

England lost to Iceland in their send-off clash at WembleyCredit: Getty

Gareth Southgate‘s side fell to a shock 1-0 loss at Wembley in their send-off, raising doubts about the country’s chances of success.

However, the friendly isn’t likely to have shown their true colours and they will still be aiming to go one step further than four years ago by getting their hands on the trophy.

England return to Euros action in Group C and take on Serbia first before facing a tough clash against Denmark and then Slovenia.

The Serbs will be a tough opponent but Southgate’s men will be buoyed by the fact that they are undefeated in the last six meetings between the sides.

England v Serbia: talkSPORT coverage

England’s opening Euro 2024 tie will take place on Sunday, June 16.

It is being held at Schalke’s VELTINS-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany and will kick off at 8pm UK time.

talkSPORT will have live coverage of the game presented by Adrian Durham.

Commentary will come from Jim Proudfoot, former England captain Stuart Pearce and former England defender Ashley Young.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

The tie will also be shown on free-to-air TV on BBC One.

England are all set for their Euro 2024 openerCredit: Getty

Serbia vs England: Team news

England confirmed their 26-man squad for Euro 2024 last week and Jack Grealish was among those left at home.

Grealish, James Maddison and Harry Maguire were the three big names to not make the final Three Lions outfit.

Luke Shaw is in the team, however, he is unavailable for this opening clash while Lewis Dunk is fighting to be fit.

During the defeat to Iceland, John Stones picked up a knock but he is expected to start alongside Marc Guehi at centre-back.

Former Newcastle and Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic will be a major threat for Serbia while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic should start.

Serbia squad

  • Goalkeepers: Vanja Milinkovic Savic (Turin), Predrag Rajkovic (Majorca), Dorde Petrovic (Chelsea), Aleksandar Jovanovic (Partizan)
  • Defenders: Strahinja Pavlovic (RB Salzburg), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Srdan Babic (Spartak Moscow), Uros Spajic (Red Star), Strahinja Erakovic (Zenit), Nemanja Stojic (TSC), Jan Karlo Simic (Milan)
  • Midfielders: Sasa Lukic (Fulham), Nemanja Gudelj (Seville), Nemanja Maksimovic (Getafe), Ivan Ilic (Torino), Sasa Zdjelar (CSKA Moscow), Srdjan Mijailovic (Red Star), Sergej Milinkovic Savic (Al Hilal), Dusan Tadic (Fenerbahce), Samed Bazdar (Partizan), Aleksandar Cirkovic (TSC), Lazar Samardzic (Udinese), Veljko Birmancevic (Sparta Prague), Filip Kostic (Juventus), Filip Mladenovic (Panathinaikos), Matija Gluscevic (Radnički 1923), Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK), Mijat Gacinovic (AEK), Nemanja Radonjic (Majorca)
  • Forwards: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al Hilal), Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus), Luka Jovic (Milan), Petar Ratkov (RB Salzburg), Mihailo Ivanovic (Vojvodina)

England squad

  • Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).
  • Defenders: Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City).
  • Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace).
  • Forwards: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
Shaw is expected to be back fit for the second group gameCredit: Getty

Joe Cole says he’s worried England are light in defence as Harry Maguire and Jarrad Branthwaite are dropped for Euro 2024

Serbia vs England: What has been said?

England were booed off in their final friendly before Euro 2024.

And Southgate said the fans were right to do so, admitting that the tournament will be ‘unbelievably hard’.

Speaking to talkSPORT’s England correspondent Faye Carruthers after the defeat at Wembley, he said: “Well, I don’t blame them.

“We have to accept that tonight we didn’t play well enough so I don’t think we can complain about an adverse reaction when we don’t play well enough.

“What we have to do internally is stay calm, there’s lots of reasons for the performance, there are things that we have to learn from and get better.

“It’s a reminder that, everybody saying we’re going to walk to Germany and walk off with this trophy, it’s going to be unbelievably hard to do that.

“You have to have every part of your game right, mentality has to be right, character has to be right, so we stay calm after tonight, but we know the level has to raise.”

Southgate isn’t expecting an easy ride in GermanyCredit: Getty

England’s Euro 2024 fixtures

Sunday, June 16

Matchday One: England v Serbia (8pm) – Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen

Thursday, June 20

Matchday Two: Denmark vs England (5pm) – Waldstadion, Frankfurt

Tuesday, June 25

Matchday Three: England vs Slovenia (8pm) – RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne

The Round of 16 will then get going on Saturday, June 29.

The knockout phase will run until the final in Berlin on Sunday, July 14.

To lift the trophy:

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