On a humid Sunday night in Gelsenkirchen, Serbia and England opened their EURO 2024 campaigns with very different agendas. Dragan Stojković wanted a statement result to show that the “Eagles” belonged on the big continental stage. Gareth Southgate’s side, cup favourites on paper, simply needed a calm start after some shaky warm-up displays. The first team-sheets of a major tournament always draw extra attention, and these two were no exception.

Why the starting XI mattered so much

The match marked the nations’ first senior competitive encounter since Serbia became an independent footballing entity, adding an extra layer of curiosity for fans and pundits alike. England’s hunt for a major trophy stretches back to 1966, while Serbia (and the wider Yugoslav tradition before it) last tasted silverware in the 1970s. Fresh line-ups offered both hope and talking points before a ball was kicked.

Predicted teams versus reality

All week long, outlets such as Sports Mole pushed predicted elevens that lined up neatly on spreadsheets. When the official sheets landed an hour before kick-off, they were broadly accurate: Southgate kept faith with Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield, and Stojković trusted a pairing of Dušan Vlahović and Aleksandar Mitrović up front even though many expected a single striker.

4. Serbia’s confirmed XI—player by player

Shirt	Player	Plain-English snapshot
1	Predrag Rajković (GK)	Dependable shot-stopper, comfortable claiming crosses.
Pavlović, Milenković, Veljković	Back three tasked with shielding the box; good in the air, less nimble on the turn.
14 Andrija Živković & 11 Filip Kostić	Wide men hugging touchlines; Živković preferred early crosses, Kostić drove to the by-line until an injury forced him off.
6 Nemanja Gudelj & 22 Saša Lukić	Screened the defence, snapped into tackles, tried to spring fast breaks.
20 Sergej Milinković-Savić	Advanced midfield licence, arriving late in the box.
7 Dušan Vlahović & 9 Aleksandar Mitrović	A classic “big-and-bigger” front pair—Mitrović the target, Vlahović looking for through-balls.

England’s confirmed XI—player by player

Shirt	Player	Plain-English snapshot
1 Jordan Pickford (GK)	Quick off his line; long left-foot kicks start counters.
2 Kyle Walker & 12 Kieran Trippier	Walker’s pace plugged gaps; Trippier, playing left-back, offered set-piece craft.
5 John Stones & 6 Marc Guéhi	Ball-playing centre-backs; Stones stepped into midfield in possession.
4 Declan Rice & 8 Trent Alexander-Arnold	Rice patrolled, Trent sprayed passes from deeper areas.
7 Bukayo Saka, 10 Jude Bellingham, 11 Phil Foden	Fluid line behind the striker; Saka hugged the right, Foden drifted inside, Bellingham surged box-to-box.
9 Harry Kane (c)	Linked play, looked to peel onto Serbia’s slower centre-halves.

6. Shapes on the pitch—3-4-2-1 against 4-2-3-1

Serbia’s nominal 3-4-2-1 often flipped to a lopsided 5-3-2 without the ball. Wing-backs were pinned deep, so Milinković-Savić shouldered heavy creative duties. England’s 4-2-3-1 turned almost 3-2-5 in build-up: Stones stepped out, Walker under-lapped, and Trippier created width on the opposite flank. The contrast produced an early pattern—England monopolised possession while Serbia looked for direct deliveries into Mitrović.

7. Key individual contests

• Rice vs Milinković-Savić – Rice’s disciplined reading limited Serbia’s midfield runner to one clear break late in the second half.
• Trippier vs Živković – Out of position on the left, Trippier stuck tight, forcing Živković to cross under pressure.
• Kane vs Veljković & Milenković – Kane dropped short, drawing the central trio out, which created space for Saka to dart behind.
• Vlahović/Mitrović vs Guéhi/Stones – Serbia’s strikers won plenty of first balls but struggled to convert them into shots thanks to Guéhi’s covering headers. These mini-battles defined long stretches of the contest.

What lay on each bench

England’s options felt game-changing: Jarrod Bowen for raw pace, Cole Palmer for guile, Ivan Toney as a penalty specialist. Serbia’s bench leaned on flair rather than speed—Dušan Tadić and Lazar Samardžić primed to unlock a defence with a single clever pass. Neither boss emptied the bench early, underlining how strongly both trusted their starting groups to lay the foundation.

Selection headaches and injury twists

Southgate’s only pre-game absentee was Luke Shaw, easing Trippier into an unfamiliar role. For Serbia, the big scare arrived in real time when Kostić jarred his knee in the 43rd minute. Early reports hinted at ligament trouble, though scans later showed the damage was less severe than feared. His loss robbed Serbia of their primary left-wing outlet and forced a reshuffle just before the interval.

How the evening unfolded

Jude Bellingham’s thumping 13th-minute header—drifting between pavlovic and Milenković—gave England the perfect platform. The Three Lions controlled the half, but Serbia’s triple change after the hour sparked a surge that saw Predrag Rajković push a Kane header over the bar, while Jordan Pickford’s flying stop denied Vlahović. In the closing stages England dropped deep, relying on Walker’s speed and Rice’s tackles to squeeze out a 1-0 result.

Reading the numbers

• Possession: England 53 % / Serbia 47 %
• Shots on target: England 3 / Serbia 1
• Corners: Serbia 2 / England 1
• Saves: Pickford 1 (but a vital one), Rajković 2

Despite close possession figures, territory favoured England until fatigue set in. Serbia’s lone shot on target illustrates their struggle to translate aerial dominance into clear attempts, while England’s three efforts underline efficiency rather than volume.

What it means going forward

Fast-forward to 2025 and these sides share UEFA World-Cup-qualifying Group K alongside Albania, Andorra and Latvia. The EURO line-ups offer clues about future selections: England may persist with Stones-Guéhi now that Harry Maguire’s role has shrunk, and Serbia could revisit the two-striker plan if both Mitrović and Vlahović stay fit. Southgate will weigh whether Alexander-Arnold remains in midfield long-term, whereas Stojković must decide if Kostić’s fitness warrants a tactical tweak or a like-for-like replacement.

Final thoughts

Line-ups tell stories long before the final whistle. In Gelsenkirchen, Serbia’s powerful front line and England’s fluid attacking quartet promised drama, and the scraps of paper handed to the referee set the tone for ninety gripping minutes. The lesson? A well-balanced sheet can secure an early tournament win, but it also sparks a chain of tactical decisions that echo through qualification campaigns to come. Both sides will revisit this night—its choices, its tweaks, its risks—when they jot down names for the next big fixture.