England edged to a 1-0 victory over Serbia in their Euro 2024 opener to go top of Group C thanks to an early Jude Bellingham header. Failure to capitalise on their dominance led to a nervous end to the first half and there was a momentum shift after the interval. Serbia stepped up, England lost their way but held on for a valuable victory.
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Christian Eriksen marked his return to the European Championship with a special goal – but Slovenia responded to draw with Denmark in Stuttgart. Slovenia, who also faced Denmark in qualifying, were backed by vociferous fans in Stuttgart and levelled when Erik Janza’s powerful effort flew past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel with 13 minutes left.
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Substitute Wout Weghorst swept in a late winner two minutes after coming on as former champions the Netherlands began their Euro 2024 campaign with victory against Poland at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion. Adam Buksa headed Poland into an early lead but a strike from Cody Gakpo made sure the sides went into the break level.
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Holders Italy battled back for a hard-earned opening victory after Albania scored the fastest goal in a European Championship match. Nedim Bajrami made history after just 23 seconds when he thrashed a strike into the top right corner but Albania’s jubilation was not long-lasting with Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella firing Italy to victory.
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Spain made an emphatic start to their quest to win a fourth European Championship with an impressive victory over Croatia at Olympiastadion Berlin. First-half goals by Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Carvajal essentially settled the outcome before the break and, although Croatia offered little, this must still go down as a statement win for La Roja.
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