Jude Bellingham headed England to victory. © ANSA / CHRISTOPHER NEUNDORF

Hey, Jude: England wins without shine

Thanks to a goal from midfield star Jude Bellingham, England started the European Football Championship with a narrow victory.

June 16, 2024

From: dpa/dl

The European runners-up won 1-0 against Serbia on Sunday evening in the Arena in Schalke with great effort. Bellingham scored the decisive goal with a header in the 13th minute. Serbia goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic prevented a possible 2-0 when he spectacularly deflected a header from Bayern striker Harry Kane onto the crossbar.

England's next opponent on Thursday is Denmark, who only managed a 1:1 draw with Slovenia in their first match. The Slovenians are also Serbia's next opponent on Thursday. The English fans, who were clearly superior in number, created a great atmosphere in the stadium on Sunday. At kick-off, Bayern star and Three Lions captain Harry Kane became the English team's sole record player at major tournaments.

Jude Bellingham headed England to victory. © APA/afp / INA FASSBENDER

In his 23rd match at European and World Championships, however, it was not the 30-year-old but Real Madrid's exceptional talent Bellingham who set the first highlight. Bukayo Saka broke through to the baseline on the right wing, crossed into the middle and the former Dortmund player Bellingham, who had run in perfectly, powerfully headed the slightly deflected ball in. The fans celebrated their first goalscorer at this tournament, which is set to be a historic one, with chants of "Hey Jude".