England fans sang and cheered all night after beating Serbia 1-0 in their first Euro 2024 match.
A header from Jude Bellingham put England ahead after 13 minutesand it was the only goal in a tense game for Gareth Southgate’s side.
That didn’t matter to the nearly 20,000 fans in Gelsenkirchen and millions in the UK, with mugs thrown into the air and flares set off after the final whistle.
Chants of “it’s coming home” rang out at Wembley Boxpark – but in Germany, concerns about possible violence were raised ahead of the match.
A clash between fans outside the arena resulted in the arrest of seven Serbian fans before the game began, but local police said most of the day passed “without incident”.
‘It’s all about Jude, isn’t it?’
Sky News sports correspondent Rob Harris spoke to fans outside Veltins Arena after the game, who were full of praise BellinghamEngland’s man of the match.
Although one said the game “could have been better” and England “backed off” after the only goal, he added: “It’s all about Jude, isn’t it? Jude FC.”
He then said that the tournament has been a good example of a “festival of football” so far – with fans in good spirits – and that “everyone is making it worse than it is… It’s been a lot of fun so far – good Vibrations “.
How did it happen: Fans’ joy after Bellingham’s goal
England fans celebrate their team’s victory in the first match of Euro 2024. Photo: AP
Another fan who came out of the stands said: “It’s difficult, the first game of the tournament, so I’ll accept it.”
The friend added: “At the end of the day, all we need to do is get the three points, take home the wins and get through to the knockouts.”
Analysis: This is a new-look England
No Euro game on record has had as few shots as England’s clash with Serbia.
But one of those 11 shots was enough for Jude Bellingham to capitalize – heading in Bukayo Saka’s cross in the 13th minute. And it was just enough for England.
Whatever the anxiety in the second half, a 1-0 victory put England in control of their group, thanks to Slovenia and Denmark’s 1-1 draw in the opening game.
A win and a two-point lead seem more important to Bellingham than any complaints about performance.
Read Rob’s full review here.
Seven Serbian fans arrested after fight
Seven arrested after ‘thrown bottles’
Sky News saw police raid a bar in Gelsenkirchen where Serbian fans were drinking before the game.
Rob Harris reported “chairs being thrown, tables being thrown and fans running around the corner” – with “lots of bottles being thrown”.
In a statement, German police confirmed that they had been informed of a clash between Serbian and English football fans.
They added: “Riot police were deployed and separated the two fan camps. They arrested seven Serbian fans and filed a criminal complaint for grievous bodily harm.
“There were no further incidents on the way to the arena. There is a lively atmosphere around the stadium.”
Gelsenkirchen police later said that “during the game and after the game ended, everything in and around the stadium remained quiet” – and both groups of fans left without incident.
See more information:
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Scenes of England fans celebrating in Hebburn, South Tyneside. Photo: AP
Starmer, Sunak and Davey cheer
Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey joined the celebrations on social media.
The Prime Minister agreed that Bellingham was “something special”, while Angela Rayner published a photograph with the Labor Party leader and comedians Matt Forde and Jon Richardson.
Sir Ed also shared a photo of the Liberal Democrats’ election bus.
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Although Southgate admitted that “we didn’t keep it as good as we needed to” in the second half, the victory takes England top of Group C following the draw between Denmark and Slovenia.
Southgate’s next team will be Denmark at 5pm on Thursday in Frankfurt, before the group stage closes for England against Slovenia at 8pm on June 25th.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
