Serbia vs England EURO 2024 Group C Matchday 1 preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, starting line-ups

Serbia and England meet in their first match of UEFA EURO 2024 Group C on Sunday 16 June.

Where to watch Serbia vs England on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA EURO 2024 broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

Forward Aleksander Mitrović scored plenty of goals in the Premier League with Newcastle and Fulham, while Dušan Tadić spent several years at Southampton, but Serbia are something of an unknown quantity for England. The sides are meeting for the first time since Serbia became an independent nation, but Gareth Southgate should be mindful of their aerial prowess: a third of their 15 qualifying goals were headers, the highest proportion of any of the finalists.

Runners-up at EURO 2020, the disappointment of the final shoot-out loss to Italy may have overshadowed the Three Lions' noble EURO record: excluding the lottery of penalties, they have lost only one of their last 18 finals games (W10 D7). Expectations are justly high given that in Bayern striker Harry Kane, Real Madrid marvel Jude Bellingham and Manchester City's Phil Foden they boast the 2023/24 Golden Shoe winner and the Players of the Season in the Spanish Liga and Premier League respectively. If not now, when?

Starting line-ups

Serbia: Rajković; Veljković, Milenković, Pavlović; Živković, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Gudelj, Lukić, Kostić; Vlahović, Mitrović

England: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guéhi, Trippier; Alexander-Arnold, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Foden; Kane

Form guide

Serbia:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WLWLDL

England:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): LWDLDW

Expert predictions

Aleksandra Stojković, Serbia reporter

England are the favourites on paper: there is no question about that. However, in tactical terms, the Three Lions might be more comfortable opponents for the Serbian team than their other Group C opponents. The two sides' attack-minded playing styles should make for an open game, and potentially quite a few goals. Sure, Serbia are up against one of the main contenders to win the competition, but they know that their first finals campaign in 24 years will not hinge on this one match. The Eagles attitude? Give it a go: who knows what might happen.

Joe Terry, England reporter

Under Southgate's management, England have won all three of their opening games in tournaments. As one of the favourites to win EURO 2024, the expectation is that this will be four from four come Sunday night, despite the concerns over fitness and experience in defence. If the Three Lions manage to subdue Serbia’s dangerous front men Mitrović, Vlahović and Tadić, it should provide the platform for their own attacking talents to secure the victory.

What the coaches say

Dragan Stojković, Serbia coach: "This qualification has been long awaited. There were many missed opportunities in the past. But this time, the goal that I set for myself as a head coach – and which was set by the Serbian FA – has been fulfilled. The road to success is never easy. But for our country, nation and the fans – and everyone who loves this game – qualifying in itself was a huge step forward."

Gareth Southgate, England coach: "I'm excited by the challenge of trying to do something that no England team have ever done. We've never won a European Championship. We've never won a tournament away from home. We've never been to a final away from home.

"[Serbia] have good individual players and fantastic collective spirit. We know this is a difficult opening game for us and we have to play at our very best to win. Everyone is available. We have a decision whether Luke [Shaw] is a possible to use from the bench or not, but everyone has trained today and is available."