Foden was uncharacteristically sloppy against Serbia and one of the reasons the Three Lions surrendered control of the game after taking the lead

England have made a winning start to a European Championship campaign for only the second time in 11 attempts. And yet, their 1-0 win over Serbia in Gelsenkirchen did not feel like a result to shout about from the rooftops.

Jude Bellingham was at his swaggering best, scoring the only goal of the game and leading England in practically every area of the pitch. Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka also gave memorable performances, as did tournament debutant Marc Guehi. But after making such a good start, England fell into a familiar trap of not knowing what to do next and ended up clinging on to their lead for much of the second half.

Phil Foden's flat performance was a big concern. The Manchester City midfielder barely ever gives the ball away at club level, but he was in a generous mood here, repeatedly handing it over to Serbia in the second half.

England got away with it thanks to some wasteful shooting from their opponents, particularly former Premier League hitman Aleksandar Mitrovic. But they will need to up their game if they want to go deep in the competition and live up to their pre-tournament billing as one of the favourites.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Veltins-Arena…

Getty ImagesWINNER: Jude Bellingham

Even the week before the Champions League final, Bellingham was thinking about the Euros. And so it was no surprise that he put in a statement performance in his first game of the tournament.

Bellingham played with the competitive edge and fighting spirit as if it were the final, which was summed up when he slammed his chest into Filip Kostic by the touchline. He demanded the ball at all times, but also helped out defensively, and he was not fazed by an early elbow bang to the face from Dusan Vlahovic as he scored his goal, an aggressive header, shortly afterwards.

Naturally, Bellingham had begun the move which led to the goal by spraying the ball to Kyle Walker. He was deservedly named Player of the Match; expect plenty more of those awards to follow by the end of the tournament.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Phil Foden

You have to feel sorry for Foden. Even after the incredible season he has had, scoring 27 goals and winning two major individual awards, he gets upstaged by Bellingham winning the Champions League with Real Madrid.

Foden's recent achievements would be enough to earn him the role of talisman in almost any other side at these Euros, but Bellingham is very much the leader of this team. Even so, Foden needs to up his game after this rusty display.

The Manchester City midfielder was absent from England's best moves in the first half, and in the second he was far too casual with the ball, surrendering it on eight occasions. His passing numbers were not awful, but they were still way behind Bellingham's: he made 57 passes compared to his team-mate's 70 and posted 86 percent accuracy, while the Real Madrid man had 96% accuracy.

It cannot be easy for Foden as Bellingham takes up a lot of the positions he would ideally like to. Barring injury, however, there is no chance of the boy from Birmingham going anywhere, so he has little choice but to learn to dovetail with him.

Getty ImagesWINNER: Bukayo Saka

Saka was booed by Serbia's fans when he first got on the ball and they were right to be wary of the winger, who ripped their defence apart for as long as he was on the pitch. The Arsenal man has had a draining club season and there were some concerns about how fit he would be for England's opener.

But he quickly banished any doubts about his sharpness by having Strahinja Pavlovic on toast within the first few minutes. He continued to cause havoc each time he got on the ball and it was no surprise that the opening goal came from a cross from Saka, albeit with the help of a deflection.

Saka has a lot of competition for his berth on the right of the attack from Jarrod Bowen, who did well when replacing him in the second half, and Cole Palmer. But here he showed that, as long as he is fit, he should always be starting.

Getty ImagesLOSER: England's game management

It was a familiar feeling when England struggled to hold on to their lead in a ragged second half display. Southgate's side have been here before in major tournaments, taking the lead and not knowing how to take the next step.

The 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia and the Euro 2020 final against Italy are the most painful examples, and there was a sense of déjà vu when Serbia came flying out of the blocks after half-time and England didn't know how to cope. They resorted to the same tactic they had pursued in those games: launching the ball forward and quickly losing it.

Foden was the worst culprit, but Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier also played some loose passes which were intercepted. Southgate's response was to bring on Conor Gallagher, who gave England more energy but could not address the problem of relinquishing control. Bringing on Kobbie Mainoo earlier would have been a better move.

After the defeat to Iceland, it was said that England's opponents would be following the same blueprint of sitting back and suffocating the Three Lions. But Denmark and Slovenia would have learned that even if you concede the first goal, England can still be vulnerable.