England labors to 1-0 win over Serbia

KATHMANDU: England labored to a 1-0 win against Serbia in their opening match of the 2024 Euro Cup at the Arena AufSchalke early on Monday morning.

Jude Bellingham secured all three points with a header in the 13th minute after Bukayo Saka’s cross took a deflection off a Serbian defender.

Harry Kane had a chance to double England’s lead, but Serbian keeper Rajkovic pushed the English forward’s header over the bar.

England keeper Jordan Pickford denied Dusan Vlahovic with the match into the final 10 minutes to prevent any Serbian comeback.

Denmark 1-1 Slovenia

Denmark and Slovenia shared the spoils after playing out a 1-1 draw in the Stuttgart Arena in the second match of Group C late on Sunday evening.

Christian Eriksen, playing his first Euro Cup match since collapsing on the pitch against Finland, marked his return by giving Denmark the lead in the 17th minute. He smashed a powerful shot into the bottom left corner after a smart short pass from Jonas Wind.

Denmark enjoyed possession in the first half and had chances to extend their lead but failed to trouble the Slovenian keeper.

Slovenia equalized with 13 minutes left to play as Erik Janza unleashed a powerful shot past Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel. Slovenia had the opportunity to take the lead, but Andraz Sporar missed both chances.