England line-up v Serbia revealed: Liverpool star partners Arsenal man in XI for Euro 2024 opener
England’s Euro 2024 campaign gets underway this evening, and Gareth Southgate has named his starting XI to face Serbia.
There is plenty of pressure on the Three Lions this summer as they head into another tournament with Southgate in charge, however preparation hasn’t been ideal as they’ve dealt with injuries and unavailability, ending their preparations with a 1-0 defeat the hands of Iceland.
England’s boss was left with decisions to make when it came to selecting who’d start this fixture, especially given that not everybody has been able to train all week, but - as expected - there is a mix of experience and relatively new blood in his XI.
Speaking on Saturday, he told the media, “We have players who have been through some big nights together and others who have an energy and an excitement about them in their first tournament,” Southgate said. “I don’t think it is essential that you have experience throughout.
“Innocence is a bonus. When I went into Euro 96, despite the end I had a good tournament, and I only went in with three or four caps. There is opportunity for people to make a name for themselves.”
One big decision is the one made to start Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield alongside Declan Rice, and the Liverpool man will be eager to give a good account of himself in a role that he may well find himself in regularly when playing for the national team.
The game, which takes place at Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, gets underway at 8pm UK time, and Southgate will be desperate to see more from his side than they’ve shown in some of their recent outings. Here’s how they line up:
England XI: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier, Rice, Alexander-Arnold, Saka, Bellingham, Foden, Kane.
Bench: Ramsdale, Henderson, Shaw, Konsa, Dunk, Gallagher, Toney, Gordon, Watkins, Bowen, Eze, Gomez, Palmer, Wharton, Mainoo
Serbia XI: Rajkovic; Milenkovic, Veljkovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, S.Milinkovic-Savic, Lukic, Gudelj, Kostic; Mitrovic, Vlahovic
Bench: Petrovic, Milinkovic-Savic, Stojic, Babic, Spajic, Mladenovic, Maksimovic, Mjailovic, Ilic, Samardzic, Gacinovic, Jovic, Tadic, Ratkov, Birmancevic