Euro 2024 talking points: England get wake-up call as Spain make statement

Persistence pays off for Serbia

Having left empty-handed despite an encouraging display against England on Sunday, Serbia knew the importance of their second group fixture.

However, with 20 minutes remaining in Munich, Dragan Stojkovic's side looked to be in serious trouble, trailing to Zan Karnicnik's well-taken opener for Slovenia.

Serbia would've been forgiven for panicking given the magnitude of the situation, but Stojkovic's men managed to regain some semblance of composure and went in pursuit of a late equaliser to keep their hopes of progression alive heading into the final group game. 

It looked to be too little too late as Jan Oblak stood firm in the Slovenia goal, but in the fifth minute of added time, substitute Luka Jovic provided a timely reminder of his goalscoring ability to snatch a dramatic share of the spoils. 

Jovic's goal could prove to be decisive, as a win against Denmark next Tuesday should be enough to see Serbia through to the knockout stages.

England given wake-up call

Two games in and England haven't really got going at Euro 2024. If they got away with one against Serbia, they did not today against a much stronger Danish side. Gareth Southgate's side were lacklustre in the second half against Serbia and they continued that trend for the majority of their 1-1 draw with Denmark.

Southgate has to take notes on what he has seen from his side in these opening two games otherwise there is a risk of England's tournament coming to an end sooner rather than later.

The current system isn't working.

Denmark exposed England time and time again through the centre of midfield and out wide. Declan Rice was getting little support from Jude Bellingham or Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier was left isolated without support from the free-roaming Phil Foden. 

England look disjointed in defensive transitions and lack cohesion in attack. The team is missing some of the chemistry that was seen throughout the 2022 World Cup.

One key issue beyond the poor chemistry is that players are being instructed to put on the handbrake after going ahead. Harry Kane's well-taken early goal against Denmark was followed by a familiar approach to England's narrow win over Serbia. Immediately after the goal they stopped dominating possession, sat back into a low block and invited Denmark onto them. 

We have seen it before at major tournaments from Southgate but England's midfield is far more vulnerable defensively this time out and such an approach is suicidal.

England have the attacking talent, (evidenced by moments of quality from Kane, Foden and Bukayo Saka in England's opening two matches) to kill sides like Serbia and Denmark off before the hour mark. At 3-0 up you can afford to sit back, make defensive substitutions and look to hold on to a clean sheet, not at 1-0. 

For England's final group game where they need a point to progress, Southgate must make changes. Alexander-Arnold isn't working in midfield and neither is the system. Bringing in Anthony Gordon to support Trippier, dropping Bellingham back to support Rice and allowing Foden to play centrally is the obvious answer to England's ever-growing headache. 

Spain show they can avoid suffering the same fate as their predecessors 

It's been 12 years since Spain last won a major tournament, and more often than not since then their biggest failing has been an inability to be direct enough to break down defensively strong sides.

Thanks to two young stars though, that's no longer the case.

Spain sides of old, full of playmakers possessing plenty of poise but not much pace, would have struggled to break down the Italy side that parked the bus in their clash, but this team has Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, two tricky wingers who can create something out of nothing no matter how hard an opponent is to break down.

Yamal stole the show in La Roja's opening game but it was Williams' turn to dazzle in their second with the Athletic Bilbao winger taking on his man and sending in a dangerous shot or cross time and time again. By the end of the match, he had four key passes and what was effectively an assist to his name, and was only denied a goal of his own by the woodwork. 

With him and Yamal on their flanks, this Spanish side has what it takes to break down anyone, and Ayoze Perez showed in his impressive cameo off the bench that he can provide a similarly direct threat. 

A dominant 1-0 win secured top spot in Group B for Williams and co, and every other side in the tournament will be desperate to avoid facing them in the first knockout round.