Gareth Southgate said star midfielder Jude Bellingham “writes his own script” after helping England make a winning start to Euro 2024 against Serbia.

The 20-year-old scored a brilliant header inside 13 minutes of their Group C opener as the road to final got off to a dream start at a rocking Veltins Arena.

But what could have been a statement victory instead turned into a slog against physical Serbia, who pushed England hard but could not find a leveller as Sunday’s clash ended 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.

“This team is still coming together, everybody is expecting us to waltz through,” Southgate said.

“There is a lot of hard work ahead.”