Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has delivered a brutal assessment of England’s performance in the 1-0 victory over Serbia in their UEFA EURO 2024 opener. Scholes claimed the Three Lions did not play like a “senior” side, adding that the excellent work they had done in the previous tournaments had gone to waste.
England Produced A Subdued Performance Over Serbia In EURO 2024 Opener
One of the tournament favorites England claimed a 1-0 victory over Serbia in their Group C opener on Sunday night (June 16). Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham scored a thumping header to fire Gareth Southgate’s side into the lead in the 13th minute. While Bellingham was at his sensational best, most of his teammates failed to live up to expectations, including Premier League Player of the Season Phil Foden and European Golden Shoe winner Harry Kane.
While Foden could not register even a single shot throughout the 90 minutes, Kane failed to beat the Serbia goalkeeper from close range in the 78th minute. Serbia nearly restored parity in the 83rd minute when Dusan Vlahovic dispatched a left-footed piledriver toward the goal. English stopper Jordan Pickford made a superb save to keep his team in front.
Paul Scholes Is Wary Of England’s Chances In EURO 2024
Uploading an Instagram Story after England’s narrow win over Serbia, Scholes claimed the team looked more like an Under-21 side, suggesting Southgate made a mistake by leaving Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish out of his final EURO squad.
The ex-England international opined:
“Taking a bit of stick after last night, can’t help but feel the hard work from previous tournaments has been wasted. Some brilliantly talented young players but it feels like more of a U21 squad than a senior one.
“Rashford or Grealish coming on for 20/30 minutes at the end brings speed or ball retention, don’t think we had either. Anyway, fingers crossed they improve and win it.”
Thanks to Denmark’s draw with Slovenia, the narrow win was enough for England to claim the top spot in Group C. Another victory against Denmark on Thursday (June 20) will secure their passage into the Round of 16 of the 2024 European Championship.
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