Serbia vs England Predictions

• England have conceded in four of their last five games
• Serbia saw both teams score in each of their final six qualfiers
• Serbia conceded eight times in three games at the 2022 World Cup
• Harry Kane has scored 10 goals in his last 10 competitive games for England

England need to bounce back in opener

The optimism around England’s Euro 2024 hopes took a hit after a disappointing defeat in their send-off game last weekend. The Three Lions struggled in a 1-0 loss to Iceland at Wembley, which brought early criticism for Gareth Southgate off the back of his 26-man squad being finalised.

However, England have too much talent to struggle for long and it was just over 18 months ago that they blew away Iran 6-2 in their opening game of the 2022 World Cup. The Three Lions have the talent to come out swinging in Gelsenkirchen, but defensive issues against a Serbian side that had a statement victory last weekend could be an issue here.

Kane can get England up and running

Gareth Southgate needs to shake England up after their struggles a week ago but he’s fortunate to have one of the most accomplished strikers in international football at his disposal. Harry kane heads into the Euros having spent close to a year in Germany, scoring 36 times in 32 Bundesliga games for Bayern Munich.

Kane struck eight in eight for Bayern in the Champions League too, while he has scored in 10 of his last 14 games for England. Kane has struck 10 goals across his last 10 competitive internationals, so he’s good value to get a goal and get England back to their best going forward.

Supported by the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer, Kane can get forward and also turn provider for his teammates. They face a Serbian side who conceded eight times across their three games at the Qatar World Cup, so England should be good for a few goals.

Serbia to threaten

England look good for a victory and they should score a few goals along the way, but Serbia have some attacking threat of their own. The Serbians won 3-0 at Sweden in their final game of the tournament and they can call upon Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic up front in their 3-5-2 system.

All three goals at Sweden came from assist provided by Serbia’s tricky wing-backs, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic adds a scoring threat from midfield. The Serbians saw both teams score in their final six qualifiers and two of their three games at the World Cup saw BTTS land. England head into the tournament without a clean sheet in four of their last five games, so both teams to score appeals.