Foden was uncharacteristically sloppy against Serbia and one of the reasons the Three Lions surrendered control of the game after taking the lead
England have made a winning start to a European Championship campaign for only the second time in 11 attempts. And yet, their 1-0 win over Serbia in Gelsenkirchen did not feel like a result to shout about from the rooftops.
Jude Bellingham was at his swaggering best, scoring the only goal of the game and leading England in practically every area of the pitch. Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka also gave memorable performances, as did tournament debutant Marc Guehi. But after making such a good start, England fell into a familiar trap of not knowing what to do next and ended up clinging on to their lead for much of the second half.
Phil Foden’s flat performance was a big concern. The Manchester City midfielder barely ever gives the ball away at club level, but he was in a generous mood here, repeatedly handing it over to Serbia in the second half.
England got away with it thanks to some wasteful shooting from their opponents, particularly former Premier League hitman Aleksandar Mitrovic. But they will need to up their game if they want to go deep in the competition and live up to their pre-tournament billing as one of the favourites.
WINNER: Jude Bellingham
Even the week before the Champions League final, Bellingham was thinking about the Euros. And so it was no surprise that he put in a statement performance in his first game of the tournament.
Bellingham played with the competitive edge and fighting spirit as if it were the final, which was summed up when he slammed his chest into Filip Kostic by the touchline. He demanded the ball at all times, but also helped out defensively, and he was not fazed by an early elbow bang to the face from Dusan Vlahovic as he scored his goal, an aggressive header, shortly afterwards.
Naturally, Bellingham had begun the move which led to the goal by spraying the ball to Kyle Walker. He was deservedly named Player of the Match; expect plenty more of those awards to follow by the end of the tournament.
LOSER: Phil Foden
You have to feel sorry for Foden. Even after the incredible season he has had, scoring 27 goals and winning two major individual awards, he gets upstaged by Bellingham winning the Champions League with Real Madrid.
Foden’s recent achievements would be enough to earn him the role of talisman in almost any other side at these Euros, but Bellingham is very much the leader of this team. Even so, Foden needs to up his game after this rusty display.
The Manchester City midfielder was absent from England’s best moves in the first half, and in the second he was far too casual with the ball, surrendering it on eight occasions. His passing numbers were not awful, but they were still way behind Bellingham’s: he made 57 passes compared to his team-mate’s 70 and posted 86 percent accuracy, while the Real Madrid man had 96% accuracy.
It cannot be easy for Foden as Bellingham takes up a lot of the positions he would ideally like to. Barring injury, however, there is no chance of the boy from Birmingham going anywhere, so he has little choice but to learn to dovetail with him.
