Summary

  1. Grant's the manpublished at 12:38 17 June

    Scotland v Switzerland (Wed, 20:00 BST)

    Jonathan Sutherland
    BBC Sport Scotland in Germany

    Scotland defender Grant Hanley is facing the media today.

    He may well fill the void left by Ryan Porteous, who got sent off against Germany. Hanley came on at half-time in Munich when Scotland were very much in damage-limitation mode.

    Interesting to get his thoughts on Friday night and the journey back to the training camp after that painful 5-1 defeat.

    Also, it should be interesting to get his thoughts on what went wrong after Steve Clarke's comments yesterday where he talked about perhaps giving the players too much information.

  2. Peak TV audience of 15 million watch England's openerpublished at 12:33 17 June

    Serbia 0-1 England

    A peak audience of 15 million people watched England against Serbia on BBC One.

    The match was also streamed 3.5 million times on BBC iPlayer and there was an average audience of 10.5 million, which resulted in a 60% share.

    Jude Bellingham scoresImage source, Getty Images
  3. Lunchtime rushpublished at 12:31 17 June

    OK, we have a busy hour or so ahead, with the Scotland news conference expected to start any time now and England training set to take place before 13:00 BST.

    You will be able to watch a stream of the England players being put through their paces - just click on the play icon when it appears at the top of this page.

    And we will bring you the best lines from the Scotland news conference.

    Watch this space...

  4. Southgate's side shows predecessors how it is donepublished at 12:25 17 June

    Serbia 0-1 England

    Gareth SouthgateImage source, Getty Images

    England have won their opening game in all four of their major tournaments played under Gareth Southgate (EURO 2020 and 2024, World Cup 2018 and 2022) - that is just one less than the number of victories the Three Lions have achieved in opening matches across their other 23 major tournament appearances (W5 D11 L7).

    England have also kept a clean sheet in each of their last five group-stage matches at the European Championship finals - the longest such run in the competition’s history.

  5. 'England did seem to lose their way'published at 12:20 17 June

    Phil McNulty Q&A

    Jordan Pickford and Marc GuehiImage source, Getty Images

    Christian asked: Hi Phil. Lots of talk about Foden and how ineffective he is for England compared to Manchester City. The first half he seemed to be moving around the pitch more freely and only in the second half did he "stick" to the left. Without being too negative and looking at the bigger picture, do you think that is again down to Gareth? Go a goal up and second half stick to the position and defend - the 'have what he hold' mentality? Only the first game, but surely this is more proof that, under Gareth, England will never win because of his natural defensive mindset.

    Phil replied: It's a familiar argument this one, Christian, and England did seem to lose their way in the second half last night, allowing Serbia to apply pressure leading to one or two worrying moments. It was actually a bit frustrating to see.

    As for Foden, I think Southgate’s argument is that it is not so much about what his starting position is in the game but where he finishes – in other words he can roam inside to more dangerous positions if the situation allows. He is not told to stay on the left flank and not move. Why would Southgate do that?

    I agree with those who say Foden also needs to be more assertive with England. Jude Bellingham is an increasingly dominant figure through sheer force of personality and superb ability – and I believe Foden can be exactly the same. He is too good not to. He just hasn’t shown it yet.

    As for Southgate, let’s see how things pan out. It was the first game of a major tournament. They can be tricky but England won – not spectacularly I admit – but they won.

  6. 'Bellingham can do what he likes'published at 12:17 17 June

    Serbia 0-1 England

    Henry Winter
    Football writer on BBC Radio 5 Live

    I mean Jude Bellingham, he can do what he likes because he’s ridiculous, he’s only 20. People talk about the athleticism, the control and all of those wonderful and obvious elements to his game. But it’s the intelligence, it’s the timing to take up that position to get in and score that goal.

    This is why he’s settled so well at Real Madrid, this is why he’s La Liga’s player of the year. He's just got this intelligence. He's a very, very, very special player.

    England Midfielder Jude Bellingham celebrating an England goal with a clenched fist.  He's wearing a white England top with the number 10 on the front.Image source, Getty Images
  7. 'Foden is allowing someone else to come in and be the dominant figure'published at 12:15 17 June

    Serbia 0-1 England

    Rio Ferdinand
    Former England defender on BBC One

    Phil FodenImage source, Getty Images

    Jude Bellingham has come into this team and his body language has said to everyone 'give me the ball or I will go nuts'...that is his attitude.

    Phil Foden has seen that and his personality is not like that and he is allowing someone else to come in and be the dominant figure in this team.

    Foden should be saying 'no, give me the ball' - the positions he is taking up to demand the ball will determine if he gets the ball or not.

  8. Gordon over Foden?published at 12:13 17 June

    Phil McNulty Q&A

    Anthony Gordon, Kobbie Mainoo and Phil FodenImage source, Getty Images

    George asked: Do you think it might be an idea to play Anthony Gordon over Foden on the left to make use of Alexander-Arnold's passing? Or do you think Foden fell victim to a right-footed left-back not being able to overlap (which I don’t blame Trippier for by the way).

    Phil replied: Morning George. I made the point about the right-footed left-back in an earlier answer and just felt the left side of the team was not functioning properly last night.

    There have been good reports about the way Anthony Gordon has been performing in training out here in Germany and he certainly looks like he feels at home at this level. I’m not sure I’d leave Foden out this quickly but he will need to better against Denmark or the noise around maybe bringing in Gordon will increase.

  9. Get Involvedpublished at 12:09 17 June

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    A win's a win. We got the three points and kept a clean sheet, so the perfect start really. Saka, Pickford, Guehi, Bellingham, Rice, Bowen and Stones all had particularly good games. But it's not 'negative' to point out the flaws - better to identify them now so we can rectify them for future games, because the way we played last night won't be good enough to beat Germany, France, etc. We scored our goal and then stopped pushing forward, trying to hold a narrow lead and acting as if the job was done when there was 80 minutes to play, and we almost gave away two points. We got away with it, but we can't keep getting that complacent. Sidenote: Gordon is a left-wing specialist and should be playing there instead of an out-of-position Foden, who looked poor last night. Have Foden as an impact player instead, brought on at 70 minutes for Bellingham to shake things up.

    Dan, London

  10. 'Foden needs to want it more'published at 12:06 17 June

    Serbia 0-1 England

    As mentioned there by Phil McNulty, former Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas spoke at length about Phil Foden's impact against Serbia during BBC One's coverage of England's Euros opener: "A player of this class, level and talent at times doesn't even need to be told by the coach what he needs to do.

    "Phil [Foden] needs to want it more than the rest and it showed [against Serbia] that Jude Bellingham is a little bit above him in this regard.

    "Foden needs to get that personality back and do what he does at Manchester City."

    Media caption,

    Phil Foden: How do England get the best out of him?

  11. 'The role on the left does not suit Foden'published at 12:02 17 June

    Phil McNulty Q&A

    Phil Foden and Jude BellinghamImage source, Getty Images

    Bernard asked: Phil, can you please try and explain why England are not using Foden to his full ability? I lost count last night of how many times the lad was in the hole waiting for a pass which when arrived was too late. Player of the season wasted.

    Phil replied: This is clearly a hot topic, Bernard, just judging by the amount of questions I’m getting about it.

    I think the role on the left does not suit him. He was magnificent in the central role for Manchester City but Jude Bellingham, perfectly understandably, is the focal point of this England team so Foden has to spend much of his time in a wider position.

    It will take a change of formation to sort that but I also agree with Cesc Fabregas that it is also up to Foden himself to make things happen – and I am certain he can. He is too good not to.

  12. Get Involvedpublished at 11:55 17 June

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    Kane, Foden, TAA and Rice were all a bit off it yesterday, which is good news for England as they will all grow into the tournament and get better. No point peaking in game one. Bowen and Gallagher had great cameos off the bench, took their chance knowing minutes will be hard to come by at the tournament, especially with Gordon and Palmer waiting in the wings. Not the last we’ll see of them in Germany based on their effort in their limited minutes.

    Tom, London

  13. 'Southgate should stick with Alexander-Arnold'published at 11:53 17 June

    Phil McNulty Q&A

    Trent Alexander-ArnoldImage source, Getty Images

    Anon asked: With Denmark drawing against Slovenia, and most likely going for it a bit more against England, do you think Southgate will stick with Trent Alexander-Arnold in centre midfield or go with Conor Gallagher or Adam Wharton? I want to see more of Wharton as he reminds me of Andrea Pirlo in the way he plays. Or do you think with possibly the third place qualifying for the next round, Denmark will take another draw and be a boring 0-0?

    Phil replied: Having made the decision to pick Trent Alexander-Arnold I think Gareth Southgate should stick with him and I believe he will. He had some mixed moments last night but he also has world-class elements to his game that give England an extra dimension in attack.

    It is not his natural role so even a player of his quality will need time to adjust.

    And I do hope it’s not going to be a boring 0-0!

  14. 'What is Bellingham's 'Wolf' celebration'published at 11:48 17 June

    Serbia 0-1 England

    Jude Bellingham & Trent Alexander Arnold celebrate England's goal against Serbia during Euro 2024.  Both players are on one knee with their hand over their faces like a mask.  Both players are wearing a white England kitImage source, Getty Images

    When Jude Bellingham scored England's opening goal of Euro 2024 on Sunday against Serbia, he celebrated by dropping to one knee and covering his face with team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold. Leaving many of us wondering...Why?

    "When we play Wolf, one of the staff [England team photographer Eddie Keogh] always holds his face when he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on," Bellingham explained to BBC Sport.

    "So that was a little group celebration for the Wolf crew."

    BUT WHAT IS WOLF?

    • Wolf, aka Werewolf, is a card game that requires at least seven players who will take on roles such as 'villagers' and 'werewolves'.

    • The idea of the game is for the werewolves to try and eat the villagers without getting caught, and for the villagers to try to survive - while catching the werewolves in the act.

    • Wolf takes place over a series of rounds and each round has two phases - day and night. The game starts during the night phase, with the player who is selected to be moderator asking the werewolves to choose a victim.

    • There is also a 'doctor', who is allowed to save one person, and a 'seer', who gets to make a guess as to who they think the werewolf is.

    • During the day phase, players discuss who they think the werewolf is (deception is the name of the game, remember), and then a vote is taken. The player with the most votes is then killed and the night phase begins again.

  15. 'There is a lot more to come from this team'published at 11:43 17 June

    Phil McNulty Q&A

    England fansImage source, Getty Images

    Jamie asked: What do you think England’s chances are of winning the Euros?

    Phil replied: Good, Jamie. Of course England will have to improve on last night’s performance but it was the first game of a major tournament and they did win, which was the objective.

    I still worry about the defence against opposition of the highest class but I am sure England will be in contention deep into the tournament. I base this on the belief that I think there is a lot more to come from this team.

    We will see if I’m right.

  16. Get Involvedpublished at 11:38 17 June

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    The negativity towards England is staggering. We won! Serbia were a horrible side to play against but we restricted their chances and looked nice and solid at the back. The only criticism would be that we should have been further ahead by half time.

    John, Oxford

  17. 'Part of the job for any centre-forward'published at 11:36 17 June

    Serbia 0-1 England

    Alan Shearer

    As Harry Kane said himself, there will still be England games when he will drop deep but the way this one went dictated that things were done differently.

    What he did instead was just part of the job for any centre-forward, whoever you are. When you are not touching the ball, let alone getting chances, you have still got to do your bit for the team.

    It is something I did all the time myself, running the channels or moving defenders around. You know you have got to affect the game somehow and, even if you are not getting involved at all in an attacking sense, you can play your part.

    At the same time, of course you are always thinking about scoring too - which is what I kept saying about Kane in my match commentary.

    You willingly do all that other work, but you are also just waiting for that one chance that might come your way.

    Kane had to be very patient but he got one in the end, from a lovely ball from Jarrod Bowen. Unfortunately for him, Predrag Rajkovic made a great save to keep out his header.

  18. 'England did look tired in the closing stages'published at 11:34 17 June

    Phil McNulty Q&A

    Harry KaneImage source, Getty Images

    Joe asked: Was it just me or did a fair few of our players look tired? The pressing was non-existent. Kane barely moved to close down players, even Bellingham at times looked too sluggish to press. Is that a tactical thing? Or was there something draining the energy?

    Phil replied: Think you’re being a bit unfair on Harry Kane, Joe. He seemed to be given a more specific role to almost play as a traditional centre-forward last night and he certainly did more than his fair share of the dirty work in the last 20 minutes when Serbia were coming on strong.

    I agree England did look tired in the closing stages but this was the first game of a major tournament and maybe one or two were short of match sharpness.

    England do need to ensure Kane sees more of the ball but I’m sure all these are things Gareth Southgate and his staff will be working on.

  19. Get Involvedpublished at 11:32 17 June

    #bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

    On the left-hand side we saw the same problems Erik Ten Hag has had all season at Manchester United when you play a one-footed, right-footed player at left-back. It really limits the flow of attacks and makes it easy for teams to shut off passing avenues. Jordon Pickford constantly going long in the second half didn't help either. Constantly giving possession away.

    Rachael, Cambridge

    Harry Kane after the match comments “this game was all about holding the ball up and winning fouls to close the game out”. And there lies the problem!

    Tony