England 1-0 Serbia: A flying header from Jude Bellingham gets England’s Euros campaign underway in style sending watching WAGs into raptures

England’s golden boy Jude Bellingham has put Gareth Southgate‘s side 1-0 up against Serbia – as the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 campaign got off to a flyer in Germany tonight. 

Tens of thousands of fans in the stadium in Germany and millions more watching from home erupted as the 20-year-old star gave England the lead just 13 minutes into the match with a sublime flying header into the top corner.

Bellingham and the rest of the star-studded squad have the support of their families, WAGs and the whole nation as they try to go better than three years ago when they lost on penalties against Italy in the final at Wembley.

The Euro 2020 final was marred by ugly scenes as ticketless fans forced their way into Wembley – and the scourge of football hooliganism made a shameful return this afternoon as England and Serbian fans clashed on the streets in Germany.

Despite the violence and travel delays sparking chaos, tens of thousands of excited fans have made it to the Veltins-Arena, while millions of Brits have packed out bars and fan zones at home – many launching pints into the air when Bellingham scored.

More than 30,000 England fans – only 20,000 of whom are believed to have tickets – are in Gelsenkirchen for a clash which has been designated as ‘high risk’ due to the reputation of the two fanbases. 

Only low-alcohol beer is being served in the Gelsenkirchen stadium in an attempt to reduce the potential for problems. 

Among those in the crowd is Jordan Pickford‘s wife, Megan Davison, who arrived early wearing a cropped England shirt with her husband’s number one on. Jude Bellingham‘s parents, Mark and Denise, and footballer brother, Jobe, took selfies with the crowd, while the partners of Harry Kane, Luke Shaw, Ollie Watkins and Conor Gallagher have also been spotted.

Jude Bellingham wheels away in celebration as England got off to a flyer in Germany 

Real Madrid and England star Bellingham celebrates after putting England 1-0 up in Germany tonight

The Real Madrid star’s flying header went straight into the top corner 

England fans at home in London celebrate Jude Bellingham scoring their side’s first goal of the game

Fans celebrate England’s first goal of the game at the 4theFans Central Park in Brighton

England’s Euros 2024 campaign got off to a flyer tonight

England’s Jude Bellingham, right, celebrates with his teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold

England fans cheer with a cardboard cutout of Gareth Southgate ahead of the Three Lions’ Euros opener

England supporters dressed head to toe in England gear flocked to pubs ahead of kick off

Jordan Pickford’s wife smiles and waves from the crowd, wearing her husband’s number 1

England fans in a fan park near the ground ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C match at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen

An England fans waves a St George’s flag in front of German riot police ahead of kick-off

An English fan is seen on the ground after being attacked by rivals ahead of the game between Serbia and England

After both countries belted out their respective national anthems, the highly-anticipated clash finally got underway – with fans on both sides raising the roof in Germany. 

England are in their traditional white strip, while Serbia are playing in red.

The WAGs were seen smiling, waving and cheering as England captain Kane led the squad out to the pitch. 

The Three Lions made an assured start, seeing plenty of the ball while Serbia were sitting deep. 

And just 13 minutes into the game, Bellingham met an inch perfect cross from Bukayo Saka with a stunning header to give England the lead – sending fans in Germany and at home wild.

Moments later, Serbia’s star striker Aleksandar Mitrović almost levelled as he tried to capitalise on a poor error from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Midway through the first half, the pacey Kyle Walker stormed through on goal, nearly doubling England’s lead, but firing narrowly wide.

Ten minutes before half-time, Bukayo Saka breezed past the Serbian defence  and searched for Phil Foden with a cutback but he couldn’t quite find his team-mate.

Southgate has encouraged supporters to enjoy their time in Germany and Three Lions fans were certainly enjoying themselves when Bellingham opened the scoring. Many are dressed head to toe in England colours as supporters flocked to bars for German steins.

Some England fans have been heard chanting a Second World War-related song, ‘Ten German bombers’, despite pleas against doing so by police and the FA.

Yet many more fans have been good-humoured as they raised pints with fellow fans and German hosts, as well as those following this evening’s Serbian opponents. 

Tens of thousands of Brits started drinking early in the glorious sunshine in Germany before the heavens opened hours before kick off. 

Excited fans were spotted downing booze as the atmosphere for England’s opener ramped up. 

At home, England fans have flocked to boozers – despite the awkward timing of the game, with many in work on Monday morning.

Men, women and children have been spotted draped in St George’s flags as they support Southgate’s squad on their quest to end 58 years of hurt.

Tonight’s game marks a return to Gelsenkirchen 18 years after Wayne Rooney saw red there as England crashed out of the World Cup yet again on penalties.

The Three Lions, managed by Sven-Goran Eriksson and captained by David Beckham, lost their World Cup quarter-final shoot-out to Portugal in June 2006.

England’s Euro 2024 campaign is underway as Gareth Southgate ‘s men take on Serbia in their first game of the tournament

England’s Jude Bellingham, whose family are in attendance, is challenged by Serbia’s Milos Veljkovic

Megan Pickford, wife of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, looks on prior to the game 

Katie Goodland (left), the wife of England captain Harry Kane, watches 

Jude Bellingham’s parents, Mark and Denise, and brother Jobe, are also in attendance to watch their son. They took selfies with the crowd

Jobe Bellingham, brother of England’s Jude Bellingham, watches on

Luke Shaw’s partner Anouska Santos donned a pair of glasses as she prepared for the big game

Ellie Alderson, the partner of Ollie Watkins, is pictured in the stands before the match

Aine Kennedy, the partner of England’s Conor Gallagher and Megan Davison, the wife of Jordan Pickford, are pictured in the stands

Captain’s Aleksandar Mitrovic of Serbia and Harry Kane of England join Referee Daniele Orsato for the coin toss prior to kick-off

Serbia’s  Aleksandar Mitrovic puts pressure on England’s John Stones early on 

Fans at the Trabrennbahn Gelsenkirchen racecourse fan park celebrate 

England fans cheer on the Three Lions at the Greenwich Fan Zone

Fans at the Trabrennbahn Gelsenkirchen racecourse fan park celebrate 

Jude Bellingham does his trademark celebration after putting England in front

England fans in the stands ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024 Group C match at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen

England fans in the stands hold up a banner of the late Queen Elizabeth II

ans gather in front of Arena AufSchalke (Veltins-Arena) ahead of EURO 2024 Group C football match between Serbia and England in Gelsenkirchen

Riot police escort Serbia fans at Hauptbahnhof main railway station prior to the Group C England v Serbia match. There has been delays on public transport

England fans were on the beers early ahead of the highly-anticipated Euros opener

Fans have dressed up for England’s first game of the Euros

Serbia fans are seen ahead of their opening Euros clash with England

An England fan tucks into some food at the Fan Zone in Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Fans wearing St George’s face paint pack out the fan zone ahead of the clash tonight

Two young England fans drape themselves in flags

Excitement has reached fever pitch in Germany and at home 

Star striker Wayne Rooney was sent off for a stamp on opposing centre-back Ricardo Carvalho, with the England man’s then-Manchester United clubmate Cristiano Ronaldo caught on camera winking after leading protests for a red card.

Stay-at-home fans will down an estimated 30million pints in pubs and in their homes for tonight’s opening confrontation with Serbia – with an audience of about 17million expected to tune in the BBC One’s coverage.

England’s 35,000 pubs have been braced for ‘Super Sunday’, with more than 14million pints expected to be sold – and another 16million tucked into at home.

An estimated 40,000 England supporters are believed to have descended this weekend on Gelsenkirchen and neighbouring cities such as Dusseldorf and Cologne.

But many faced issues reaching the stadium after a broken down train caused public transport delays.

At home, fans have also packed out pubs and bars, including this female supporter at Boxpark Croydon

Football fans gather to watch England’s Euro 2024 opening Group C match against Serbia on a big screen at BOXPARK Croydon

Pubs are set to rake in millions as British punters take to bars across the UK

England fans gather in the Fan Zone at Devonshire Green in Sheffield City Centre

A Three Lion fan shows off his England crest tattoo on his back 

England fans pose for a photo on the outside of the stadium

Fans faced travel chaos on the way to the stadium this evening

An England fan wearing St George’s face paint

England fans chant and sing as the atmosphere builds 

Some 20,000 England fans have tickets to the crucial Euro opener

Frustrated fans reported waiting more than half an hour for a train, while sports writer Oliver Kay described the situation as a ‘total mess’.

He wrote on social media: ‘For any England or Serbia fans who are still in the middle of Gelsenkirchen (or worse still not there yet), I’d recommend you set off on foot if you can. It’s about three miles but the public transport situation is a total mess.’

German police have been working with authorities from London and Belgrade to try to avoid ugly scenes in the areas around the stadium and during the game itself.

Earlier this afternoon, England and Serbian football fans clashed in ugly scenes in Gelsenkirchen.

Shocking pictures showed supporters covered in blood after violence broke out ahead of kick off.

German riot police quickly descended on the scene this afternoon, with police sources telling MailOnline at least six people have been arrested.

There was speculation over which supporters were involved in the vicious brawls, with reports initially suggesting the violence was sparked by Serbia’s arch-rivals Albania attacking Serbs.

However, Gelsenkirchen police have now said it was English and Serbian fans who were involved in the fighting.

‘It was an altercation between English and Serbian fans, who were separated by the police,’ a spokesman said. ‘Further measures are underway and the background is currently being clarified.’

Officers moved in after trouble erupted between fans outside a restaurant-bar just after 3.30pm. Video shows a group of thugs – some hooded and masked – launching bottles, chairs and tables – while some supporters were seen fleeing the area for safety as tension boiled over.

German police officers grapple with a fan after violence broke out ahead of a match between the Three Lions and Serbia

Two officers grapple with a fan after chasing attackers through the streets of Gelsenkirchen

An English fan is seen with blood pouring from his head after being caught up in clashes today

One group of fans was seen throwing chairs at another, although it is unclear who started the violence

A football fan is seen covered in blood following an altercation between Albania and Serbia fans on Sunday

One English fan is believed to have suffered a head wound in the fracas, with one other injured.

Earlier, the UK’s dedicated Football Policing Unit released a statement saying a ‘number of arrests’ have been made, but it is believed those detained are Serbian.

A spokesperson for the UK’s Football Policing Unit said: ‘We are aware of an issue in Gelsenkirchen ahead of the England v Serbia match.

‘Our German colleagues have made a number of arrests of what we currently believe to be Serbian supporters.

‘At this stage we do not believe that any UK nationals have been arrested but enquiries are ongoing.

‘Our officers are at the location speaking to German colleagues.

‘Our investigation team is now reviewing footage of the incident and if any UK nationals have been involved, football banning orders will be sought.’