England failed to reach the standards that Germany and Spain showed in victories in their opening games.
Jude Bellingham got England's Euro 2024 campaign off to a winning start but a 1-0 win over Serbia in Gelsenkirchen failed to dispel doubts over the Three Lions' bid to become European champions for the first time.
Bellingham was outstanding in Gelsenkirchen, with the Real Madrid midfielder heading home a fine individual display in the 13th minute.
But collectively, England failed to reach the standards that Germany and Spain displayed in victories in their opening games.
Expectations for England ahead of a major tournament have rarely been higher, but they had won just one of their previous five games, including a 1-0 defeat by Iceland in their final match before leaving for Germany.
On the eve of the match, Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic announced Bellingham as a future Ballon d'Or winner and he showed that in his current form he is the best player in the world.
The 20-year-old played with the confidence of a newly-crowned Champions League winner, making the Serbian midfielders chase him all over the pitch.
However, Bellingham also showed their physicality to open the scoring in the 13th minute.
He started the move before bursting into the box and meeting Bukayo Saka's deflected ball with a powerful header into the top corner.
In the first 45 minutes, England dominated without looking to develop the game.
Kyle Walker had the best chance to double the lead before the break when he tried to equalize after breaking into the Serbian penalty area from the right back.
Southgate's only risk in the starting line-up was to release Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield.
That decision almost proved fatal, as it was a mistake by Alexander-Arnold that gave Serbia the only scoring opportunity of the first half.
Alexander-Arnold lost the ball on the edge of England's box but in-form Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has scored 40 goals in 43 games for Saudi champions Al Hilal this season, fired wide.
The second half was different as England were lucky to hold on to their lead.
Southgate's men entered the tournament with question marks surrounding their defense due to Harry Maguire's absence and Luke Shaw's lack of game practice.
Crystal Palace's Mark Gehey stepped into Maguire's shoes but had a moment of hesitation as he was tackled by Dusan Vlahovic and Filip Mladenovic failed to get hold of the Juventus forward's cross.
Mitrovic then had a penalty claim and Luka Jovic failed to deal with a pass from Dusan Tadic to miss another chance for Serbia.
Southgate turned to the bench to break the deadlock, with Conor Gallagher and Jared Bowen coming on.
Bowen made an immediate impact as Harry Kane headed home his cross but Serbia goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic brilliantly deflected onto the post.
It was Kane's only significant impact in the opposition half on a disappointing night for the Bayern Munich striker.
In fact, Kane's most important touch came at the other end of the pitch moments later when he headed home Velko Birmančević's shot.
Jordan Pickford was also forced to save a Vlahovic shot late in the game.
But England held on and started with three points, if not the statement of intent expected of the pre-tournament favourites. | BGNES
