Rio Ferdinand names two stars England needed v Serbia as Arsenal icon tells regular to ‘step up’

Rio Ferdinand names two stars England needed v Serbia as Arsenal icon tells regular to ‘step up’

Rio Ferdinand feels England could have made their victory over Serbia far more comfortable had Gareth Southgate turned to two much-needed stars off the bench, while Cesc Fabregas has branded one regular’s performance as ‘underwhelming’ and that if needs to improve if the Three Lions are to win Euro 2024.

Gareth Southgate’s men started their opening game in Gelsenkirchen in control and scored a deserved opener after 13 minutes when star boy Jude Bellingham stooped to power home an excellent header after Bukayo Saka’s cross had deflected up into his path. And while England saw a lot of the ball thereafter, they could not extend their advantage as control of the game eventually passed to their opponents.

Indeed, with former Southampton and Ajax man Dusan Tadic pulling the strings, Serbia enjoyed a strong second half and applied plenty of pressure without creating too many meaningful chances, though could consider themselves unlucky not to score when Jordan Pickford was needed to push over a snap-shot from Dusan Vlahovic from outside the area.

Southgate did try and help England wrestle back some control with his substitutes – Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Kobbie Mainoo all being introduced for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Saka and Bellingham, respectively.

Gallagher arrived with 20 minutes left, stepping on for the ineffective Alexander-Arnold, while Mainoo came on with 86 minutes on the clock.

Ferdinand, though, questioned the timing of Southgate’s changes and also felt the England boss missed a trick by not turning to another man off the bench in Chelsea creator Cole Palmer, who he feels could have provided much more control in tight areas.