England kick-start Euro campaign with a Jude Bellingham beauty as they surge past Serbia in Germany

Jude Bellingham has continued his remarkable season, lifting widely-fancied England to a 1-0 win over Serbia for a winning start at Euro 2024.

Coming off La Liga and Champions League glory in his first Real Madrid season, Bellingham ran into the penalty area to meet Bukayo Saka’s cross from the right with a thumping header in the 13th minute.

Sunday’s narrow win in Gelsenkirchen put the 2021 runners-up top of Group C, after Denmark and Slovenia drew 1-1 in the other game.

“Good game. They’re a very tough side, very robust, strong,” Bellingham told the BBC.

“They’re a big group of lads and it was important we prepared well for this game and we did, the staff got it right.

“There’s been a lot of goals in the other games, but I think we try to keep to our standards and play the opposition that’s in front of us and not the theme of the tournament, if you like.”

Serbia had their moments against an at times passive England, with Aleksandar Mitrovic firing inches wide right after a mistake from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the first half, and Dusan Vlahovic’s 82nd-minute blast tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

At the other end, Kyle Walker’s cross after a stunning run down the right did not find a teammate, goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic palmed away an Alexander-Arnold attempt and then also denied Harry Kane in the 77th minute when he tipped the captain’s header against the crossbar.

“Overall, I think we deserved the win. It’s just about getting through the group, so it’s an important win,” England skipper Kane said.

“They changed the pressure (in the second half). They went man-for-man and we couldn’t quite keep the ball well enough ... But a clean sheet in any game is important and we got one today.”

Netherlands forward Wout Weghorst loves to make a big impression off the bench and he did it again in a 2-1 win over Poland in Hamburg.

The giant striker struck with a low left-foot shot in the 83rd minute with his first touch after coming on to replace Memphis Depay.

The late win puts some pressure on Group D favourites France, who beat the Dutch twice in qualifying last year and play Austria on Monday.

Poland were forced to cope without their injured star Robert Lewandowski but soon found a goal from his replacement Adam Buksa, who used all his height when circled by four defenders at a 16th-minute corner to guide a header into the net.

Cody Gakpo levelled in the 29th minute with a shot that was deflected and deceived goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. But it was fair reward for a vibrant first half for the Dutch.

In Stuttgart, Christian Eriksen made a fairytale comeback to the European Championships with a goal, but his Denmark side were held by Slovenia.

Three years after suffering cardiac arrest at the Euro match against Finland, Eriksen had a magical return to the tournament when he scored the Danes’ opener in the 17th minute.

But they were not able to hold an increasingly dangerous Slovenian side, who got a deserved equaliser in the 77th from Erik Janza.

With PA.