Kane delighted with win in Serbia opener

Harry Kane was happy England came through a tough test against Serbia in their EURO 2024 opener in Gelsenkirchen.

The Three Lions secured a 1-0 victory after Jude Bellingham's first-half goal and withstood some pressure from their opponents in the second period.

Kane's hold-up play was a key aspect in that effort and he stressed that the win is the most important thing.

He said: "We knew it was going to be a tough game. Serbia posed some good threats. They are very physical with the long ball, rely on second balls and I thought we dealt with it, overall, very well. There was a spell in the first half where we got camped in our box a little bit and we found it difficult to get out but overall I thought we deserved the win. In the group it's just about getting through so it was an important win today.

"They changed their pressure a bit in the second half, they went almost man-for-man, we couldn't quite keep the ball well enough. It was a tough game, they're a good team and have some really good players. They have a good structure, they're physical and make it a battle. We stood up to it well. A clean sheet in any game is important and it's good that we got that today."

Bellingham's header in the 13th minute was his second major-tournament goal and the Real Madrid man's performance stood out throughout the contest.

Kane credited his teammate's efforts as fundamental to the victory.

The England skipper said: "Jude is an unbelievable player. He deserves all the praise he is getting at the moment. Just the way he plays, the confidence he plays with and the way he affects games. It's important for people who play in his position to get goals and assists and he does. It was a great run into the box and he finished it off nicely.

Our #EURO2024 campaign is off to a winning start! 💪 pic.twitter.com/mmtWXJi2q9

— England (@England) June 16, 2024

"Each game will be different. Today I probably stayed a little bit higher because they like to defend man-to-man. I wanted to keep them deep so Jude and Phil could play in the pockets, Trent as well on the right. Each game will be different, sometimes I will drop in, sometimes higher up. Today for me was more about holding the ball up, winning fouls and trying to see the game out like we did."