We know England need to improve - Alexander-Arnold

England midfielder Trent Alexander-Arnold says the Three Lions know they need to improve after narrowly beating Serbia in their opening Euro 2024 match.

Jude Bellingham scored the only goal as England won 1-0 in their tense Group C opener.

Serbia pushed forward after the break with Jordan Pickford needing to produce a couple of saves to preserve victory.

Alexander-Arnold conceded that his side "could have performed better" but said it was "very important" to start the tournament with a win.

"In tournament football that's the only thing that matters," he said. "Keep up the momentum, don't get ahead of ourselves.

"We know we need to improve in the tournament. Things to learn but also things we can look at and be happy with."

Manager Southgate added: "We had to suffer a bit which I think is really good for us. I think to defend the box the way we did was really good for us."

Southgate also said Bellingham "writes his own script" after the Real Madrid midfielder's impressive performance.

Bellingham headed home the opener to reward a sparkling start on 13 minutes as England threatened to run away with the win.

"It was a super bit of play in the build-up," he told BBC Sport. "I think all of our forward players looked really good."

'We need to focus now and improve'

England play Denmark on Thursday before a game against Slovenia on Thursday, 25 June as they look to progress from the group stage.

Defender Marc Guehi said beating Serbia was a "good learning curve" going into their next games.

"I am very happy with the performance," he said. "It's always hard to get off to a good start in a major tournament. The most important thing was to get the win and we did that. We need to focus now, improve and on to the next one."

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said England showed their "class and resilience".

"We did everything we needed to do to win and get a clean sheet," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Serbia's keeper made a great save to stop Harry Kane from taking us 2-0 up."

Pickford has now made the joint-most appearances of any men's England goalkeeper at major tournament and is level with Peter Shilton having featured in 20 games.

He said it was a "great privilege" to equal the record, but credited the help the rest of his team provide.

"A great achievement personally, but I will never take plaudits myself," Pickford added.

'Behind the sofa stuff at the end' - what the pundits said

Former England defender Rio Ferdinand, speaking on BBC One: "As a team England need to really look at how they want to see games out. There are different way to do it.

"You can sit back on the edge of your box in a low block, but that can get a bit like panic stations at times.

"The other way is to be dominant with the ball and taking the onus away from the opposition, play higher and being confident. It was a bit nervy towards the end, behind the sofa stuff."

Former England midfielder Izzy Christiansen, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live: "Harry Kane didn't touch the ball a lot, he played a very unselfish role.

"The ball in from Jarrod Bowen was beautiful and Kane generated enough power, but it was a brilliant save.

"Harry Kane's moment will come in this tournament."

Ex-England defender Micah Richards, speaking on BBC One: "It makes me sad when I see a player of Phil Foden's quality in and out of games.

"At Manchester City it is all coordinated with Pep Guardiola and the system that they play - we need to find ways to get him involved.

"When he is coming from a wide position it is difficult for him, he goes from pressing out wide to coming back inside and he needs a full back to go and overlap so he can get those combinations going."