England defeat Serbia 1-0 in their Euro 2024 opener | Back Pages Tonight

England defeat Serbia 1-0 in their Euro 2024 opener | Back Pages Tonight

[Music] time now for a special Euros edition of Back Pages tonight bringing you a first look at the sports stories in the morning’s newspapers delighted to say that joining us tonight are the athletics football correspondent David orstein and Martin zegler Chief sports reporter for the Times welcome along to you both thanks very much for joining us straight after the big match and we’re going to get straight to this story from the telegraph uh Hey Jude Bellingham wins it we showed it to you just a few moments ago picture of his celebration alongside Kieran trippier Dean rice in the background midfielders crashing header gets England’s tournament up and running Martin I’ll come to you first on this one was that it was Jude Bell him the difference between the two sides in a very tight match he was certainly the the best player on the pitch and I think by by a fairly long way I mean I I was a bit concerned he was going to be exhausted after his very long season playing in the Champions League final when he he did look a bit leggy then but he’s he’s clearly had a couple of weeks off and he was absolutely revitalized I thought he was brilliant I mean in every in every facet really um physically really strong um very very good on the ball Visionary and that brilliant brilliant header yeah David what was your take on bellingham’s performance he seemed to to be everywhere on the pitch last night or this night yeah that’s right Matt he’s Cut From a Different Different Cloth Jude Bellingham um we know he’s a generational Talent we know he’s already uh on the path towards greatness winning champions league just recently uh playing for the mighty Real Madrid um and the way he wanted the ball and um was eager to be the main man it sort of was reminiscent of a a young Wayne Rooney bursting onto the scene many years ago and the hunger with which he wanted to drive the team forward and lead by example in attack with the goal in Midfield in defense the the Swagger he had the way he was prepared to take it to the opposition serenad by the crowd I’ve said it before on this program he’s such an old head on young shoulders um and you just want te get better and better as the tournament goes on Martin points out obviously a bit of fatigue coming into this tournament he’s also been carrying a shoulder injury for quite a long time he was on the end of a couple of rough challenges as well tonight but his body is built so robustly by the looks of it that he’s the sort of player that England are going to build their team around for many years to come he’s part of the leadership group already Gareth Southgate wanted him to inspire some of the younger players by being just 20 years old and already in that um select uh group group and yeah it bodess really well um he was the standout performer um in what was an interesting night it it was a very positive result but there’s a lot that we can pick through before we get onto the overall performance Martin there’s lots of places you can play du Bellingham really you could play him as a number eight couldn’t you there are lots of number 10 options but did tonight vindicate the decision to play him as a number 10 yeah I think so I think that is his best place uh for for him it is for Real Madrid and I I just think you when you’ve got that sort of talent you have to play him in his best role it there may be other players who for example Phil foden didn’t look uh too comfortable out on the left and he likes playing in that position as well and you know do you accommodate him by moving Bellingham I I think no and I think that showed tonight that you don’t you have to play him there all right let’s uh have a look at the eye as well um there headline is shaky start so a slightly different take to the Telegraph and David how are we to look at this performance because it was a tale of two halves wasn’t it really the first half England were pretty dominant they looked very dangerous down the right and then the second half all of a sudden Serbia had a lot more of the ball and it was all hands on deck in terms of of Defending so overall in the round how are we to look at this opening performance well the the first half especially for the most part of the first half it got a little bit edgy towards halftime but uh the majority of it was very commanding authoritative um I thought England looked great physically um in in fine FAL and and tactically they’ been set up well positionally it it looked like a team that knows they’re one of the favorites for this tournament they’ve been together a long time despite having some younger players and some newer faces in the group and um they took it to Serb quite well I did sort of gain a feeling when you know after that excellent opening goal from Jude Bellingham um the way England took the pace out of it a little bit and started looking like they weren’t quite going for the kill in a way that many of us want to see that this could come back to haunt them later because at this level you really need to see off opponents like that and and that’s where you you flip into the second half and and there are reasons to be concerned in in terms of maybe the substitutions in terms of the fact that England allowed Serbia to to get back into it and and really there there were moments that were very squeaky and against better opposition you imagine England might have been punished now at the same time you got to say England before Gareth Southgate didn’t used to do well in their opening matches of major tournaments under him they have and they’ve continued that and now I remember Clive Woodward when England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 just get the results it doesn’t matter how they come but of course with English football we want to see the style as well we’ve got such good players that have the capabilities of doing so and and definitely on the substitutions would have liked to see some more proactive steps rather than perhaps a bit more conservative and defensive but but they got through and on the same day that the other teams in their group Drew and so England are now in a commanding position and they’ll need to step up their performance against Denmark yeah well let’s have a look at your paper Martin and the times also focuses on Jude Bellingham Bellingham in a class of his own but I want to get your thoughts you know on the overall performance as well do you think England defended better than they attacked today a lot of questions over the defense but Mark gy in particular had a very good game yeah I thought he was absolutely superb actually um because you coming into this game he perhaps have been somebody people didn’t know much about um unless you sort of followed Crystal Palace closely um but he I thought he was absolutely excellent and certainly just just behind Bellingham in terms of the you know the ratings for the match I I actually think England should have been a bit more clinical perhaps I know Harry Kane had Bon that hit the crossbar and but there were a couple of Kyle Walker I think he would have been very disappointed didn’t make more of his his clear chance there were a couple of others so I think they sort of they could be more clinical in their finishing and think well actually I thought they defended brilliantly I think they had one shot on target Serbia and um when you look at the actual match stats I think England will be quite pleased with that is I think actually Southgate will be perhaps less happy with what happened in in terms of um finishing off the chances that they had if you if I think if you were any other team Italy Spain you think this was a job well done you wouldn’t be too fussed about the fact that you you you conceded a bit of possession a bit of territory to Ser in the second half you just think you know we we held our own we we did the job and we got the result and that’s all that matters I mean a lot of the papers are focusing on Bellingham as you would imagine he scored the only goal the express is no different uh as well let’s have a look at their uh headline so far so Jude so all of these headlines really just expressing the fact that you know England did the job really through Bellingham tonight but how about about his Midfield partner because at the start of the game a lot of the focus was on Trent Alexander Arnold playing in Midfield he got taken off Midway through the second half he was fairly influential in the first half can we look at that as a success or not I think that was going to be the talking point after this match Matt whatever happened did Trent Alexander Arnold do well or not so well um because he was the only really real selection dilemma was it going to be him or or Connor Gallagher and I think many people have been asking for Gareth Southgate to try Trent Alexander Arnold in this position which he’s very new to he’s barely played there for for club or country and so as Sam Wallace writes in the telegraph it’s a position and a decision that comes with risk and uh also some reward too and so there were some moments that he he will learn from in terms of possession and positionally but also he’s got special qualities that many of us want to see from England in terms of his vision his distribution and for the moments that were maybe not so good tonight he he made up for them really well some interceptions some starting of the counter attacks and and you’d like to think that he would grow into this tournament and as Sam finishes his piece with he should be retained for for Thursday as well and and you know I think Trent Alexander Arnold is the sort of player that the spark the the the ability to do something that would light up a major tournament and and is the sort of thing that England maybe looking for so yeah I thought he on the whole did pretty well for this first performance um against very tough opposition we shouldn’t underestimate Serbia they beat Sweden 3-0 in their their last warm-up match um and he forms a good partnership with Dean rice um and obviously you got Jude Bellingham in there as well you’ve got the option of Conor Gallagher he came on kobby Mayu too but maybe that’s a bit defensive and we’ve got so many players in the England squad who who could bring some excitement to this uh to this team in this tournament so um I think Trent Alexander on the whole did pretty well to be fair yeah so that is on your screen there that is Sam Wallace’s article inside the telegraph Alexander Arnold was a big risk but it was the right call Martin do you agree with that yeah I generally do I mean he there there are a couple of things he he gave the ball away with midic nearly scored from um put it put it wide I think that was just a a little bit of of an error there but I think going forward generally he was a a very positive force and he did make some interceptions as well so you he is a a fallback naturally for Liverpool so he does have that defensive side to his game too as well as this his amazing passing ability which we saw some of as well I actually think he will get better and better as the tournament goes on and I I very much think he should be kept in that position yeah well okay that’s interesting David I’ll come to you then because there is a train of thought isn’t there that when we come up against more offensive sides maybe Conor gallager should play in Midfield alongside Declan rice and not Tren Alexander arold he’s better used to to sides that that sit deep do you go along with that train of thought maybe but I’m not sure England even have the most natural defensive midfielder in their squad um Dean rice is is not sort of um the type of player that plays there all the time for Arsenal he’s he’s pushed further forward and looked quite natural in the AG you’ve got Jude Bellingham as you’ve talked about sort of the eight and the even the 10 as Martin said he took so well to even though he can get back defensively and and Connor Gallagher is not a Defender I mean he he’s he’s an industrious player that gets around the park and and he tries to create and as we’ve seen for Chelsea um has a bit of a ponant for scoring goals too so you could say kobby Mayu but and and it was great that got on tonight and I think that’s a a good step from Southgate to get some minutes under his belt in a remarkable rise for Manchester United in England but he’s still very young and this is a new stage for him and so as the tournament gets more more serious I’m not sure that he would be your sort of starting option so there will be a lot of focus on Connor Gallagher but there was a bit of a sense that when those players came on maybe England retreated into their shell and were a bit too Compact and invited Serbia on the likes of duen tadic were on by that point and and trying to do things slightly differently so I don’t know it’s the proactive steps the the sort of players who can retain the ball who can get on England on the front foot and take the gain to the the opposition that we see from many of these other nations that work out so well and so that’s where Trent Alexander Arnold maybe hold some favor and that he’s a Forward Thinking player and and we all seem to agree that England’s best chance at this tournament is to rely on their their forward players to make maybe mitigate some of the weakness through injury and lack of availability on the defensive side so no I think he should retain his place and and most likely will okay thank you very much guys for the time being very positive start for England at the Euros they’ve won their first game against Serbia stay with us lots more to [Music] come welcome back you are watching Back Pages tonight and welcome back to Martin zegler Chief Sports rep for the times and the athletics football correspondent David orstein right we are now going to talk about Scotland gentleman which is quite handy because I know Martin you were at the game the other day the the 5-1 humbling by Germany and Steve Clark has actually taken responsibility in some ways uh for the defeat and the manner of the defeat hasn’t he if we have a look at at this here Clark uh I clouded the players mind for Germany thrashing what what do you make of the way that Steve Clark has tried to deflect attention away from his size performance in some ways yeah I mean he was very he was very not surprisingly very sort of grumpy after the match U and I I pointed out in the postmatch press conference Scotland had didn’t have a single shot at all on goal despite the fact they managed to to score have a goal in their favor of our own goal um and he you know he was very put out he seemed quite put out by that but um he wasn’t blaming the players he he just he he just he said we we know we’re better than this uh and I’m not surprised he’s sort of taking it on the chin himself to try and take some of the pressure off them uh and I think he’s saying that he basically overly complicated things gave them too much information about what he wanted them to do and instead of keeping it simple and he’s going to change things for the next match um and I think that’s probably a good managerial tactic to be honest yeah Sam Dean with that in the telegraph in terms of clouding the players Minds he’s got a big job on his hands though hasn’t he David to turn that around that was uh about as poor a performance as he could have hoped for in their first game yeah it was a real low light of the tournament so far unfortunately for Scotland and and it doesn’t get any easier because they’ve got well it should get a little easier but not much because it’s Switzerland who are on form and then even hungry and we’ve seen their quality and Dominic soas lying there if if he can up his level a little bit to it it’s not going to be easy for Scotland to qualify now of course second place and maybe some third places too gives them hope but that was a bruising first defeat and losing Ryme Porteus to the red card uh injuries coming into the tournament there was even concern on Andy Robertson on the eve of the tournament um and it’s not it’s not been plain sailing at all so far um look he’s done a magnificent job uh Steve Clark in in getting Scotland to this point and and they’re going to go down fighting whatever happens and and their fans will be right behind them quite incredible the support that they they give Scotland but it was a bitterly disappointing start and and you start to look around the team for for where they can pick up against a team of Switzerland’s quality led by Granite Jaa um and it’s going to be really tough so yeah it’s not looking the best for them well Sam was also actually in stutgart for the other game in group C England’s group Slovenia against Denmark he’s written about that too um janza spoils Erikson movie script is the headline he goes with and that that’s kind of spot on really isn’t it Martin because we were heading for a fantastic story had Christian Erikson scored the winner there for Denmark yeah because of course it been it was in the Euros when he he collapsed on on the pitch and um with with his heart had heart attack um so for you know for him to have come back and scored this mean it really excellent goal it wasn’t it was looking like a fairy tale um but Slovenia weren’t going to they weren’t going to have it end that way and actually they they look very strong um got a couple of really powerful Strikers up front um and Ericson I think you know he I think he accepted that they that they slabin did enough to deserve that draw and it’s it’s going to be wide open now um as you as David said you can if you finish in third place you can still qualify so um even though Serbia lost to England it’s by no means the the end of their story um and they can be very very hopeful that they can pull one off because actually a draw would have been the best result for them coming playing against both of those teams left to come David it seems as though the the so-called bigger sides have all started out pretty well or started with wins in this tournament Netherlands managed to get a late win against uh Poland early 21 with v VOR getting the winner formerly of Manchester United he’s still actually on burnley’s books isn’t he V VOR but what did you make of the Dutch yeah look the Dutch uh they’ve been unpredictable at major tournaments in recent years but we know they’ve got quality there and actually VOR is becoming a bit of a major tournament hero for the Dutch I I was out in cat ey into him after some of his heroics there and um and he’s sort of being bit of a standard Bearer for them um they they’re going to need to up their quality and and they’ve got it within their ranks um and as England have showed tonight and Martin pointed out you just got to get the wins now Italy came from a goal down the holders that would have been a a big upset if they hadn’t done so it was only really obviously Germany and Spain who were commanding in their victories but it puts the the bigger teams in in good shape um but yeah that there are threats I mean a word for Benjamin cesco of Slovenia today a couple of shots that that could have scored sort of goal of the tournament contenders in in the opening few days um and so it’s not going to be easy you know England have got them in their in their final group game um so that there are threats wherever you look and and that’s why the big teams at this point that you can’t take RI off the ball and you just can’t underestimate the the importance of just getting those points on the board and and getting through to knockout stage which is why I think we need to keep a bit of the England analysis in perspective because they’ve done what they needed to do well I’ve just got a couple of minutes left jents but I want to go back to England finish with England and go back to the telegraph as well because Mike McGrath’s player ratings make interesting viewing in the telegraph uh everyone gets sevens eights or nines for Bellingham uh the two lowest scores Martin Harry Kane and Phil foden who both get a six now foden of course playing on the left and from that evidence it didn’t really seem to suit him no um actually I think it’s slightly harsh I think Kane actually did all right I mean he didn’t get it wasn’t as though the ball was being played to him and he wasn’t controlling it I actually think he did quite well with what he had um won a lot of free kicks when he got the ball he he he he made use of it he had that chance his only chance which very nearly scored so actually I think probably slightly harsh I would have marked him a little bit bit higher foden I might even have marked a little bit lower I thought I was actually thought he was pretty disappointing didn’t use the ball um nearly as well as I thought he he could maybe it’s just not his position I mean for Manchester City he likes playing coming in from the right doesn’t he so maybe it’s a it’s a struggle trying to get him to adapt to that new position so it’s maybe it’s something that’s going to get better through the tournament but it it didn’t look particularly comfortable for him out there only about 45 seconds or so left David but do you think foden was the poorest performer for England today yeah he didn’t do himself Justice or reach the standards we know of him and that maybe puts his place under scrutiny for the Denmark game especially when Anthony Gordon is so well thought of by the England coaching staff and he does hug that left touchline so well for Newcastle United Jared boen came on and created more chances than anybody else for England tonight and so I think there’s a bit of a selection dilemma there and Phil foden will need to up his level um if he’s going to retain the place in the team and deliver what we know he can great talking to both of you thank you very much David onstein and Martin Zigler that was back pages tonight [Music]

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The Athletic’s David Ornstein and The Time’s Martyn Ziegler discuss England’s 1-0 victory against Serbia in their Euro 2024 opener.

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