Gareth Southgate and England are in search of a spark

England got off to a winning start at the Euros on Sunday, but it was far from convincing.

Jude Bellingham’s early goal made the difference on the night as they beat Serbia 1-0.

The lack of creativity within the side was clear to see, but the three points is what matters most.

A difficult buildup to the tournament

England entered the tournament following a rough string of friendly results at Wembley.

A loss to Brazil and draw with Belgium in March were followed by a win against Bosnia and Herzegovina and a loss against Iceland at the start of June.

In all, the friendlies were a missed opportunity to pick up momentum ahead of the Euros.

None of that will matter though if the Three Lions manage to click at the right time.

Finding form at the right time

Tournament football is all about finding a groove.

In order for that to happen, England needs to sort out its strongest XI.

Phil Foden, who has struggled at the international level since his debut in 2020, has come under scrutiny after another poor performance on Sunday.

There have been shouts for either Cole Palmer or Anthony Gordon to take his place.

While Phil Foden certainly isn’t the problem per say, it may be time for Southgate to drop the highly talented Manchester City man for the sake of the team.

At the very least, he should be played in midfield, rather than on the left wing where he looked slightly lost.

We’ll see whether the England manager makes any changes to his starting XI tomorrow.

A strong performance would go a long way in giving one of the tournament favourites some much needed confidence.