England Set for Euros Opener Against Serbia in Group C Clash

Serbia makes its long-awaited return to the UEFA European Championship 2024 with a game against 2020 runner-up England at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen in a Group C match on Sunday.

While Serbia has not featured in the final tournament since 2000 – when it reached the last eight only to bow out after a record-equalling defeat – England is making its fourth successive appearance.

This is the first fixture between the sides since a friendly in Leicester on 3 June 2003, which England won 2-1. Steven Gerrard gave Sven-Göran Eriksson’s side a 35th-minute lead only for Nenad Jestrović to equalise ten minutes later for a Serbia and Montenegro side coached by Dejan Savićević before substitute Joe Cole scored England’s winner seven minutes from time.

England has won the last four fixtures between the teams, recording a 2-0 victory in London and a 4-1 success in Belgrade in qualifying for the 1988 European Championship.

England’s squad features notable talents including Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, Al Hilal duo Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic, as well as Fenerbahce’s Dusan Tadic. The anticipation builds as both teams look to kick off their Euro 2024 campaigns with a strong performance in this highly-anticipated clash.