Serbia V England Preview and Prediction
Gareth Southgate's team is significantly more experienced than it was in the last competition, and given the odds, they are the main favourite to win the title.
After the big disappointment that came with the defeat in the final of the last European Championship at home, England continues to chase its dream and win the first big trophy since 1966. Gareth Southgate's team is significantly more experienced than it was in the last competition, and given the odds, they are the main favourite to win the title. England starts its journey against Serbia, a team with a respectful roster but no major success in recent history.
Serbia is Back at EURO for the First Time in 24 Years
The last time Serbia qualified for the European Championship was in 2000, when the current manager, Dragan Stojkovic Piksi, was still playing. After back-to-back appearances at the World Cup, Serbia finally made it to the EURO.
Looking at their roster, there are plenty of guys who have been playing at the top level for years.
Dusan Tadic is the captain and the main creator in the midfield for Serbia. He played 134 games for Southampton, and going against the English players will be nothing new to him. He had his peak while in Ajax when he took the team to the Champions League semifinal. Since last year, Tadic has been with Fenerbahce, and despite being 35 years old, he is capable of making a difference in any game.
Aleksandar Mitrovic missed the crucial penalty against Scotland that cost the Serbs participation in the previous EURO. Meanwhile, he became the nation's top scorer, was excellent with Fulham in the Premier League, and decided to join the Saudi Pro League. Mitrovic scored 28 goals in 28 games for Al Hilal and is ready to take that form to the EURO 2024.
He plays well on the pitch with Sergej Milinkovic Savic, who also joined Al Hilal last season. Sergej is someone who can do everything with the ball and can create scoring opportunities for himself as well as for others.
How far Serbia will go in Germany will depend on their defensive end. Nikola Milenkovic has been the wall in Fiorentina's defense for years now, and Strahinja Pavlovic has grown into a reliable asset. Serbia has plenty of quality goalkeepers, and Sergej's brother Vanja Milinkovic-Savic is expected to be the starting one.
Manager Stojkovic is one of the best players in the history of Serbia, but this will probably be his last competition on their bench unless he takes his team deep in the tournament. He has been leading this squad for a while now, and after a couple of failures at the World Cups, Serbia has to at least come out of the group stage. No team would have an easy task if they face Serbia in an elimination game since the Eagles have numerous players who can score against anyone.
Serbia Recent Form
Serbia played a pair of friendly games preparing for the EURO and showed two completely different faces. First, they lost to Austria 2-1, allowing two quick goals in the first 15 minutes of the game. They picked themselves up but could not get back in the game. Serbian manager Dragan Stojkovic gave some playing time to all three strikers—Mitrovic, Vlahovic, and Jovic—but none of them scored.
In the second game, they went to Sweden and dominated the game for a final 3-0 win. Sergej Milinkovic Savic, Aleksandar Mitrovic, and Dusan Tadic scored for Serbia.
Serbia has four wins, one draw, and five losses in the last ten games. Two of those losses came against Hungary in the qualifiers for the EURO. Serbia finished second in Group G with 14 points, four less than Hungary and three more than Montenegro.
Is This the Tournament for England?
The last EURO was supposed to be a football spectacle for England, but it turned into a nightmare when The Three Lions lost to Italy in the final at Wembley in a penalty shootout.
The players, and especially the fans, needed time to recover from the disappointing loss, but the FA decided to keep Gareth Southgate as the team manager.
This group of guys has been through a lot, and they seem ready to turn the tragedy into a celebration in Germany.
Harry Kane, England's all-time leading scorer, is coming off a fantastic individual season with Bayern Munich. Kane scored 36 goals in 32 games for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga in his first season away from England. He added eight goals and four assists in 12 Champions League games. That proves that Kane is still on top of his game, and the good news for England is that he can focus on scoring only and give Jude Bellingham the leading role on the team.
The Real Madrid midfielder has grown into an elite player, and we are about to see the best of him at the EURO. Phil Foden is another youngster who can make a difference on the pitch, regardless of whether Southgate will put him in the starting lineup or if he will come off the bench.
Bukayo Saka was the one to blame for the final loss to Italy, as the then-19-year-old striker missed the last penalty in the shootout. Saka is now more experienced and is coming off a solid season at Arsenal. He had 16 goals and 9 assists in 35 Premier League appearances and also recorded 4 goals and 4 assists in 9 Champions League games.
England Recent Form
Just like Serbia, England had a win and a loss in the friendly games right before taking the trip to Germany.
First, they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina by 3-0 at St. James' Park in Newcastle. England needed an hour to score the first goal, as Cole Palmer converted on a penalty kick in the 60th minute. Trent Alexander-Arnold made it 2-0 five minutes from time, and Harry Kane scored in the last minute.
England played their last game before the EURO in front of 90,000 people on Wembley but lost 1-0 to Iceland, with Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson scoring the only goal in the game.
They have five wins in the last ten games and only one in the last five. Besides Iceland, Brazil is the team that managed to beat England. Ukraine, Macedonia, and Belgium stayed undefeated, while England won against Scotland, Italy, Malta, and Australia.
England finished on top of the qualifing Group C with 20 points, six more than Italy.
Serbia and England Part of the Group C
Serbia and England will compete in Group C at the EURO and will also face Denmark and Slovenia. Denmark is a team that is playing consistently in every major competition, while Slovenia is back at the EURO for the first time since 2000, just like Serbia.
The Serbs will play Slovenia on the second matchday, which is a game they expect to win. Therefore, they will be completely happy if they win a point against England. The Three Lions have no reason to do any calculations going into the tournament, as they have the quality and the system that recognizes only a victory as a success.
Head-to-Head
This will be the first game between Serbia and England
Probable lineups
Serbia: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Nikola Milenkovic, Nemanja Gudelj, Milos Veljkovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Dusan Tadic, Sasa Lukic, Andrija Zivkovic, Dusan Vlahovic, Aleksandar Mitrovic
England: Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Luke Shaw, Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Conor Gallagher, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane
Serbia Player to Watch – Dusan Vlahovic
One of the biggest stars of the tournament is Dusan Vlahovic. The Juventus striker is coming off a solid season, with Juventus scoring 16 goals in 33 Serie A games and two goals in five games of the Italian Cup.
Vlahovic has been with the Serbian team for a while now but still has not shown his class in the national team jersey. He scored a goal at the last World Cup even though he was not completely healthy, which took a huge toll on his performance.
Vlahovic is the highest-paid player at Juventus, and his name has been mentioned in many transfer rumors. Arsenal is among the teams that are interested in signing the 24-year-old, and maybe this tournament will be the turning point in the transfer talks.
Vlahovic is a top-class scorer who can be dangerous in any given situation. He is 6-foot-3, and England's defensive line will have a tough task guarding him. One of the things that sets Vlahovic apart is his confidence, and he may be one of the best players in the tournament and maybe even a top-three scorer.
England Player to Watch – Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham is one of the biggest stars in the world of football, even though he is still only 20 years old. The midfielder is coming off an impressive season with Real Madrid, winning both La Liga and the Champions League. His individual performances brought him the awards for the best player in the Spanish league and the best young player in the European elite competition.
Bellingham recorded 19 goals and 6 assists in 28 La Liga appearances and 4 goals and 5 assists in 11 games in the Champions League.
England seems perfectly ready to win a major trophy, and they need a hero who will lead them to the top. Bellingham is that man, and maybe this will be the competition that every die-hard England fan was waiting for.
Serbia V England Prediction
Given the odds, England is the main favourite to win the EUEO. After the heartbreaking loss in the final of the last competition, Gareth Southgate is under huge pressure to finally win a trophy for England. The Three Lions have an excellent roster with multiple top-class players in every spot.
They are starting against Serbia on the first matchday of Group C. The Serbs are back at the EURO for the first time after more than two decades, and they will definitely try to leave a mark after a couple of failures at the last two World Cups. There are a couple of players with significant Premier League experience, like Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sasa Lukic, and Dusan Tadic, who definitely know how to play against England.
Serbia will try to stay undefeated in this game and will not rush in the offense, waiting for a potential opportunity on the fast breaks. However, Serbia’s defense is very vulnerable, and England will know how to take advantage of it. With Harry Kane in the offense and Jude Bellingham doing what he does best, England will start their journey at EURO with a win.
Serbia V England Final Score Prediction
England is the main favorite both in the group and in the competition in general, and they will try to win every game. They are known for their aggressive playing style, and they will try to dominate from the very start of the game. Serbia has often broken down early in the games and then is usually pushing hard to get back at it. England will get on the scoreboard in the first half, and the second one will be a real battle. Given that, we go with a 3-1 England win as a final score prediction.
Serbia V England Goalscorers
There are plenty of guys on both sides capable of scoring in such big games. Harry Kane is England's all-time top scorer, while Aleksandar Mitrovic holds that spot in Serbia. Mitrovic has scored over 100 goals for Fulham and will be the one scoring for Serbia. For England, Harry Kane will show his class by scoring probably a double, with Phil Foden also hitting the net.