“We looked at the match against Iceland and there are things that can be copied” - Dusan Vlahovic warns England ahead of Euro 2024 clash
Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic has warned EURO 2024 favorites England ahead of their Group C opener in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday. The Three Lions will face Serbia in their first group game before facing Denmark and Slovenia in their two remaining group games.
Gareth Southgate's side were runner-up three years ago at Wembley, losing on penalties to Italy in the final. They enter into the tournament in Germany as one of the favorites but are on a dodgy run of form with one win in their last five games. England succumbed to a disappointing 0-1 defeat to minnows Iceland at Wembley in their final warm-up match ahead of the tournament.
Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic told the Guardian that his side will look to pile more misery on England by following the blueprint used by Iceland in the game.
“No one is invincible. We looked at the match against Iceland and there are things that can be copied from them, because they beat them at Wembley in front of 80,000 people. Everything is possible. They are the favourites, maybe the biggest in the tournament, but we believe in ourselves and we are going step by step to present ourselves in the best light.”
Serbia have a solid squad and will be playing in the 24-team tournament for the first time as an independent nation. They last played in the European Championship as Serbia & Montenegro in 2000, when they reached the quarterfinals.
Vlahovic will play alongside Al-Hilal striker Aleksandr Mitrovic up front for the Serbians with Dusan Tadic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic also in the squad. England will be keen to begin their tournament on a positive note by claiming all three points, but Serbia will not be pushovers in the group.
Kyle Walker named as England's vice-captain of an inexperienced squad
Manchester City star Kyle Walker has been named as the vice-captain of the England team at EURO 2024 in the absence of several senior players, according to ESPN. Manager Gareth Southgate has named only 13 players who were in the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup for the tournament in Germany.
With Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire both missing, Southgate has decided on Walker to serve as the vice-captain behind Harry Kane. The Manchester City man has played 83 times for the Three Lions in his career and is among the most experienced players.
Arsenal man Declan Rice and Newcastle United defender Kieran Tripper are also among the captains, with both of them having captained the squad on several occasions. With 12 players set to make their tournament debut for the Three Lions, they have a quite inexperienced group in Germany.