Fans' delight after Bellingham goal gives England a win in Euro 2024 opener against Serbia (2024)

Sky sports correspondent Rob Harris caught fans as they left the stadium in Gelsenkirchen.

One told him the match "could have been better" and that England "sat back" after Bellingham's goal.

But he said: "It's all about Jude isn't it. Jude FC."

He added that the tournament has been a good example of "festival football" so far - with fans in good spirits.

"Everybody's been making it out to be worse than it is. It's been really fun so far – good vibes."

Another spectator said he became nervous after the first 30 minutes.

"England kind of sat back in the low block. But they came through pretty well," he told Harris.

Three friends coming out of the stands said: "It's hard, the first game of the tournament, so I'll take that."

Another had more praise for the man of the match: "Jude Bellingham is something else. He is class. We all need more of him in our life."

Their friend added: "At the end of the day all we have to do is get the three points, bring home the wins, and get through to the knockouts."

Fans who watched the match in Wembley say they are cautiously optimistic about England's chances - given the shaky second half of tonight's game.

Jim Redhead, 52, from Essex said: "I am still going to be optimistic."

But he warned England need to be more aggressive.

"Serbia were very aggressive," he said.

"England need to be more aggressive because other teams are going to target the front four players."

Manager Gareth Southgate spoke to the BBC following the match.

He said it was good to see his side come through and secure victory but they "had to suffer a bit" against Serbia.

When asked if the match had been more uncomfortable than he would have liked, he said: "Than we'd have liked, but that's the reality of tournaments. They're a strong team.

"We had to suffer a bit, which I think is really good for us, to come through and defend our box the way we did. The pressure was important for the group.

"We had good chances to extend the lead and kill the game, which we didn't manage to take. So I was really pleased with a lot of the play, especially the first half, I thought we used the ball really well.

"Second half, we didn't keep it quite as well as we need to, but to get the win and the start we have is really important."

A few of our political leaders took a break from the election campaign trail to watch the game.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted on X to say goalscorer Jude Bellingham is "something special" and England "got the job done".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was out celebrating the England win with his deputy leader Angela Rayner and comedians Matt Forde and Jon Richardson.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey watched the game from the party battle bus.

Drinks flew through the air as fans celebrated at Wembley Boxpark.

Fans danced and cheered as Gala's Freed From Desire played.

Celebrating with his friends, Daniel Dunne, 32, from Colchester said of Jude Bellingham: "He is a generational talent. He got the goal.

"He has to start, it doesn't matter where we play him."

However, he added: "(Phil) Foden is useless on the left wing."

Harry Kane spoke to the BBC after the final whistle.

He said: "We knew it'd be a tough game. Serbia pose a threat. Very physical.

"I thought we dealt with it well. Overall we deserved to win. The group is just about getting through.

"They changed in the second half to go man-for-man and we couldn't keep the ball well enough. A clean sheet in any game is important and it's good we got one today. "

On the goalscorer, he added: "Jude is an unbelievable player. He deserves all the praise, the confidence he plays with and the way he affects games.

"It's important for players that play in his position to get goals and assists. He finished it off nicely."

And finally he said: "Each game will be different. Today I played higher that allowed them to stay deep so Jude and Phil could play in the pockets.

"Sometimes I'll drop in, sometimes I'll play higher up. It was more about holding the ball up and winning fouls in that second half."

Our Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins is at the fanzone in Gelsenkirchen.

She says: "There was such a cheer when that final whistle went here.

"It was quite tense in the last 15 minutes - particularly when Harry Kane missed that goal.

"But they are utterly relieved here tonight. I think they're now heading into town for some more drinks."

By Siobhan Robbins, Europe correspondent in Gelsenkirchen

In the street where violence broke out in Gelsenkirchen earlier today, all is now quiet.

The debris of broken chairs and tables has been swept away.

People in the nearby bars intently watched the match but the atmosphere is relaxed.

The earlier unrest at the moment appears to have been an isolated event in a largely peaceful day.

As soon as the final whistle blows in the stadium, the fanzone nearby inGelsenkirchen erupts with cheers as the result sinks in for England.

Meanwhile back inside the Veltins-Arena Sweet Caroline blasts from the speakers.

They did it - England beat Serbia to go top of their group.

Gareth Southgate's side made hard work of their opening match - with lots of areas for improvement heading into Thursday's 5pm clash with Denmark, their second Group C match.

England head towards that game as group leaders after Denmark and Slovenia drew their opening game earlier.

Remember, the top two teams definitely qualify for the last 16 - with the four best third-placed sides also qualifying.

Realistically, three points this evening mean they probably only need another point to guarantee qualification.

Jude Bellingham was the standout performer coming off the back of a stellar first season at Real Madrid in which he helped led them to the Champions league glory. The 20-year-old's 13th minute goal proved to be the winner.