Serbia vs England: Can England finally get the job done at Euro 2024?
After coming painfully close to glory at Euro 2020, but coming up short as Italy beat them on spot kicks in the final, England will once again look to get their hands on the coveted title this summer. The Three Lions have never won a Euro title, and have been seeking a major trophy for nearly six decades since winning the World Cup back in 1966. First up on their journey to this summer’s UEFA EURO 2024 final will be a group stage clash against Serbia, who have won the European Championship twice (in 1960 and 1968) but never as an independent nation following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Dragan Stojkovic’s team hardly impressed in qualifiers and won just four of their eight matches. However, it was enough for Serbia to secure a spot at this summer’s competition by finishing as runners-up in their group behind Hungary. Since earning their ticket, the Eagles have earned mixed results in their pre-tournament friendlies, with losses to Russia and Austria followed up by wins over Cyprus and Sweden. Overall, despite boasting quite a few star players in their ranks, such as Dusan Vlahovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Aleksandar Mitrovic, and Dusan Tadic, Serbia’s form has not really inspired much, and they come into this competition having won just four of their last 11 matches across all competitions.
Despite this, England will not be taking their opponents lightly. The Three Lions eased through qualifiers, with six wins and two draws more than enough to ensure that they topped Group C by a whopping six point margin over Italy. However, their performance in their four most recent matches leading up to this contest have raised some eyebrows. A 1-0 loss to Brazil was followed by a two-all draw with Belgium, and despite beating Bosnia 3-0, England had to work a lot harder than expected for that result.
Losing 1-0 to Iceland – on home turf – was not exactly the kind of sending off Gareth Southgate had wanted to see from his squad heading into this competition, and it goes without saying that he, plus legions of England supporters, will hope that the performance against Iceland will just be nothing more than a bad day at the office and not a sign of some rather unpleasant results to come in Germany this summer. With many of the tournament’s biggest sides – including Spain, reigning champions Italy, and hosts Germany – already off to strong starts after picking up wins on matchday one, the onus will be on England to do likewise in their showdown against Serbia on Sunday.
