A header by Jude Bellingham put England ahead in the 13th minute and proved to be the only goal of a tense game with Serbia. Despite earlier incidents, fans of the Three Lions said they've enjoyed the tournament so far.
By Dylan Donnelly, news reporter
Monday 17 June 2024 05:39, UK
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England fans sang and cheered the night away after the Three Lions beat Serbia 1-0 in their first Euro 2024 match.
A header by Jude Bellingham put England ahead in the 13th minute, and was the only goal in a tense game for Gareth Southgate's side.
That didn't matter for the near 20,000 fans in Gelsenkirchen and millions back in the UK, with pints thrown in the air and flares set off after the final whistle.
Chants of "it's coming home" rang out at Wembley Boxparkbut over in Germany, concerns about potential violence were raised before the match.
A clash between fans outside the arena saw seven Serbian fans arrested prior to kick-off, but local police said most of the day passed "without incident".
'It's all about Jude isn't it?'
Sky News sports correspondent Rob Harris caught up with fans outside the Veltins Arena after the game, who heaped praise on Bellingham, England's man of the match.
While one said the game "could have been better" and England "sat back" after their one goal, he added: "It's all about Jude isn't it. Jude FC."
He then said the tournament has been a good example of "festival football" so farwith fans in good spiritsand that "everybody's been making it out to be worse than it is... It's been really fun so fargood vibes".
As it happened: Fans' delight after Bellingham goal
Another fan leaving the stands said: "It's hard, the first game of the tournament, so I'll take that."
His friend added: "At the end of the day all we have to do is get the three points, bring home the wins, and get through to the knockouts."
Sports correspondent
No Euros game on record has had as few shots as England's clash with Serbia.
But one of those 11 shots was enough for Jude Bellingham to seize onheading in Bukayo Saka's cross after 13 minutes. And it was just enough for England.
Whatever the second-half anxiety, a 1-0 win put England in control of their group thanks to Slovenia and Denmark drawing 1-1 in their opener.
A win and two-point cushion seems more important for Bellingham than any grumbling about the display.
Read Rob's full analysis here.
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Seven arrested after 'bottles thrown'
Sky News saw police swarm a bar in Gelsenkirchen where Serbia fans were drinking ahead of the game.
Rob Harris reported "chairs being flung, tables being thrown, and various fans running around the corner", with "a lot of bottles being thrown".
In a statement, German police confirmed they had been informed of a confrontation between Serbian and English football fans.
They added: "Riot police were deployed and separated the two fan camps. They took seven Serbian supporters into custody and filed a criminal complaint for grievous bodily harm.
"There were no further incidents on the way to the arena. There is a lively atmosphere around the stadium."
Gelsenkirchen police later said "during the game and after the game ended, everything in and around the stadium remained quiet"and both sets of fans left without incident.
Read more:New-look England and another moment for BellinghamEngland beat Serbia 1-0 in unconvincing openerEngland player ratings: Guehi impressive
Starmer, Sunak and Davey cheer
The travelling supporters were joined back home by Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey, who all joined in the celebrations on social media.
The prime minister agreed that Bellingham was "something special", while Angela Rayner posted a photograph with the Labour Party leader and comedians Matt Forde and Jon Richardson.
Sir Ed also shared a snap from the Liberal Democrats election bus.
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