Focus Fixture: Back Kane to find the back of the net in England's opener

England get their Euro 2024 campaign underway when they take on Serbia on Sunday night. The tournament favourites are looking to end their 58-year wait for an international trophy.

The Form

England lost their final warmup match against Iceland 1-0 so there will be no danger of complacency heading into the first game of the tournament. The Three Lions took 20 points from their eight matches in qualifying, finishing well clear of the Italians, who beat England in the final of Euro 2021.

Gareth Southgate has a tremendous squad at his disposal as looks to find the winning formula. Four of the top eight in the betting for Player of the Tournament are English. The likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden could all be the difference makers when they take on Serbia.

England have never won the European Championships and the team are in good spirits ahead of the big kick-off. There is huge competition for places in the starting lineup and it’ll be interesting to see who starts this clash.

Serbia finished behind Hungary in their qualifying group but could prove to be a stern test for England. The Serbs beat Sweden 3-0 in their last match so their last match so they come into the tournament full of confidence.

Dragon Stojkovic’s men will be hoping to qualify for the knockout stages and taking anything from this game would be a huge bonus. They have recorded back-to-back victories since June of last year. This would be a fantastic time for them to accomplish that feat.

The Runners and Riders

Gareth Southgate chose to exclude Jack Grealish from his final squad. England have plenty of attacking options but the decision did raise some eyebrows. Luke Shaw has been included in the squad and could be in line to start this match despite missing the latter stages of the season through injury. 

there are no fitness concerns for Serbia. Aleksandr Mitrovic partnered Dusan Vlahovic up front in the win over Sweden and we are likely to see the same strike pairing against England. 

What They Said

Harry Kane, England’s captain, suggested that the Iceland defeat could benefit the team after the match. He said, "This could be a nice wake-up call for everyone to realise it is not going to be as easy as people think. There is a lot of work to do."

Stojkovic knows his team need to be at their very best to get anything from this game. He told the press ahead of the clash, "We should have maximum concentration and the quality at the maximum level, and I would not make a difference between the first, second or the third match, each of those matches are of extraordinary importance.”

Tip

The first of our bets for this match is for England to win by at least two goals. The Iceland setback should serve as a warning and I expect England to be at their brilliant best as a result.

England haven’t lost a competitive fixture since being eliminated from the World Cup at the quarter-final stage by France. Since then, they have won six of their eight competitive matches, scoring an average of 2.75 goals in the process. That’s 2.25 more goals than they have conceded.

Despite the impressive win over Sweden, Serbia have largely struggled in recent matches. They have lost five of their last 10 matches. During that indifferent run, they have scored an conceded an average of 1.5 goals per game. However, they haven’t faced a side that possess the quality that England have and could be put to the sword if they concede an early goal.

Recommended Bet: England -1 handicap at 1.82

Bet Builder Selection

We are also backing England to win as part of our bet builder tip for this game. A winning start would do wonders for England’s confidence with expectations so high coming into the tournament but they shouldn’t have it all their own way.

England have the firepower to do some damage but they look weaker at the back. An injury to Harry Maguire means that England will have to call upon Marc Guehi or Lewis Dunk, who are inexperienced at international level. Southgate’s team have conceded in their last five matches and will have their hands full with Aleksandr Mitrovic leading the line for Serbia.

Serbia were ruthless against Sweden. They found the net three times despite having just eight shots in the match. The likes of Mitrovic and Tadic have the physical presence to cause problems for the England backline.

We are also backing Harry Kane to score. He was at his brilliant best for Bayern Munich last season despite failing to clinch silverware. The striker scored 36 league goals in 32 matches. His non-penalty xG of 0.83 per 90 minutes meant he ranked in the top 1% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues in that regard. Kane also has a habit of delivering for England. He is the nation's all-time top scorer and will have plenty of chances on Sunday.

Recommended Bet: England to win, both teams to score & Harry Kane to score at 4.00