Euro 2024: Serbia vs England: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

Despite a surprising 1-0 defeat to Iceland in their final warm-up match, England remain the favorites entering this Euro 2024 Group C opener. Their unbeaten run in qualifying (6 wins, 2 draws) demonstrates their strength, and they are expected to bounce back against a solid Serbia side.

Harry Kane, who boasts an impressive record of 36 goals in 32 Bundesliga appearances and 8 goals in 8 Euro qualifiers, is poised to rediscover his scoring touch. His presence up front, coupled with the creative flair of Phil Foden (19 goals and 8 assists in the Premier League this season) and the dynamism of Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, should prove too much for Serbia's defense.

Serbia, while a capable team, may struggle to contain England's attacking prowess. The Three Lions' midfield and forward line are expected to dominate possession and create numerous scoring opportunities.

Footy Accumulators Prediction: Serbia 0 - 3 England

The opening game of the European Championships for England sees them take on Serbia in Group C. The Three Lions stumbled against Iceland and will be looking to make a statement against Serbia in their opening game.

• Date: 16/06/2024
• Kick-off time: 20:00
• Location: Veltins-Arena

After their appearance in the Final last time out in this competition, England will expect to reach that stage again and will look to state these intentions with a big win over a strong Serbia side that can’t be completely counted out.

This will be Serbia’s first European Championship after having competed as Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. Before the 1980s, Serbia were a part of one of the biggest footballing sides at the European Championships, with Final appearances in 1960 and 1968 and a fourth-place finish in 1976.

In qualifying Serbia took on Hungary, Montenegro, Lithuania and Bulgaria in Group G. In eight games, Serbia picked up four wins, two draws and two losses, leaving them on 14 points and three points ahead of Montenegro.

England have never won the European Championships after ten attempts. The Three Lions have made the Final once in 2021 where they lost on penalties to Italy and have managed two third-place finishes in 1968 and 1996.

In qualifying England were drawn into Group C against the likes of Italy, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta. In eight games, England picked up six wins and two draws, finishing on 20 points, six points ahead of Italy and top of the group.

Serbia and England have only met once in their histories, this coming back in an international friendly in 2003 where England came out on top, though with both sides on the scoresheet.

Steven Gerrard opened the scoring in the 35th minute but Nenad Jestrovic equalised for Serbia and Montenegro on the stroke of halftime. However, Joe Cole popped up with a goal in the 82nd minute to give England the 2 - 1 win.

Serbia Team News

Dragan Stojkovic has called up the likes of Chelsesa’s Djorde Petrovic in goal, Fenerbahce’s Dusan Tadic, AC Milan’s Luka Jovic, Al Hilal’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic for his Euros squad.

England Team News

Gareth Southgate has called up all of the usual suspects for England including Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Kyle Walker. John Stones could be a doubt after he was withdrawn early from England’s friendly against Iceland and faces like Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire were left out of the squad.

In their last five games in all competitions, Serbia have two wins, one draw and two losses.

Milos Veljkovic opened the scoring early for Serbia to give them the lead over Bulgaria at halftime. Georgi Rusev and Kiril Despodov both scored to give Bulgaria the lead with 20 minutes to go but Srdan Babic popped up with a goal in the 82nd minute to rescue a 2 - 2 draw for Serbia.

An international friendly saw Serbia take on Russia. Milan Gajic was shown a red card early in the 21st minute and Anton Miranchuk converted the subsequent penalty. Maksim Osipenko doubled the lead before halftime and Aleksei Miranchuk and Ivan Sergeyev scored in the second half to give Russia the dominant 4 - 0 win.

Serbia bounced back in another international friendly, this time against Cyprus. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored the only goal of the game in the seventh minute to give Serbia the 1 - 0 win.

Patrick Wimmer and Christoph Baumgartner both found the back of the net for Austria before the 15 minute mark. Strahinja Pavlovic did get Serbia on the scoresheet before the halftime whistle but with just one shot on target they slumped to a 2 - 1 loss.

The last time out for Serbia was against Sweden. Milinkovic-Savic, Mitrovic and Tadic all scored in the 3 - 0 win over Sweden despite having only 36% of the possession.

In their last five games in all competitions, England have one win, two draws and two losses.

The last game of the Euros qualifiers saw England in North Macedonia. Enis Bardghi gave North Macedonia the shock lead at halftime. However, despite their 75% of the possession, England had just two shots on target and relied on an own goal from Jani Atanasov to grab a 1 - 1 draw.

In an international friendly, England hosted Brazil. The Three Lions had just three shots on target as Endrick scored the only goal of the game in the 80th minute to give Brazil the 1 - 0 win.

Youri Tielemans opened the scoring for Belgium in the 11th minute but a penalty from Ivan Toney equalised for England just six minutes later. Tielemans scored again for Belgium before halftime but Bellingham found the back of the net in the 95th minute to rescue a 2 - 2 draw.

England finally found some form against Bosnia and Herzegovina. A penalty from Cole Palmer and goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kane in the second half gave England the 3 - 0 win.

The most recent outing for England was against Iceland. Jon Dagur Thoresteinsson scored the only goal of the game in the 12th minute as England could only manage one shot on target, 1 - 0 Iceland.

Serbia v England will be shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the U.K. but the game can also be followed online via BBC Sport or Sky Sports.

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