It was a good kick-off to the 2024 UEFA EURO for England. Gareth Southgate and Co. clinched a narrow victory against Group C rivals Serbia. Even though many would question the Three Lions for the nature of their victory, Jude Bellingham has urged his comrades to rather “take the good with the bad.”

The Real Madrid star again took the spotlight as he scored the only goal of the match in just 13 minutes. However, the rest of the game felt rather stagnant, especially on the attacking front. Interestingly, during the post-match interview with ITV journalist Gabriel Clarke, Bellingham was questioned if England’s win was rather an “ugly” one. However, the former Dortmund man was in denial, further breaking down the hostile agenda.

While urging his side to focus on the positives more than the negatives of the game, Bellingham said, “With England sometimes, people look to highlight the negatives a little bit too much and I’m sure they will today as they always do.” The No. 10 heaped praise over his side for “moving the ball” really well and acknowledged a good play from the 2020 Euro runner-ups. “There’s always an instant negative reaction to the games we play, I think we need to be calm, analyze it for what it is, take the good with the bad and move on to the next game.”

It seems like Bellingham is optimistic about his side’s display tonight, even though he reckons that a few from his nation will double down on the criticism. But the Los Blancos star is liable to back England, considering he was the only one who stood as many who expected to show their creativity eventually failed!

Jude Bellingham should be the preferred No. 10 for England

English icon Jamie Carragher questioned his nation’s performance after the game, stating that Gareth Southgate should cease experimenting in such a significant tournament. The Liverpool legend emphasized that the manager should prevent Phil Foden from taking on his role and allow Jude Bellingham to move further forward. “There has been a lot of talk about Bellingham being deeper to allow Foden to play as the 10. England’s opening goal shows why it has to be Bellingham in that role,” he said.

Carragher further claimed that even though it was an ‘encouraging‘ start from England in the opening minutes, the rest of the game turned out to be more “satisfactory” instead of an “excellent win” for England. “They ran out of steam as the game progressed,” added the pundit. Certainly, the air isn’t good surrounding the debut performance of England in the Euros, proving that there’s a lot to be done. Perhaps Jude Bellingham’s advice to ignore the negatives and focus on the positives may be the key to success.