How England's 'suffering' start could actually help it to Euro 2024 glory

Gareth Southgate insisted that England's imperfect start to its Euro 2024 campaign might turn out to be just what his squad needed.

Head coach Southgate was relieved to see his side survive a tense 1-0 victory against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, with Jude Bellingham's early header proving to be the difference between the teams.

And as favorites to win their nation's first major tournament since 1966, Southgate thinks that still collecting three points to top Group C despite an occasionally shaky performance will benefit England in its overall quest to lift the trophy.

"They are a strong team," Southgate told reporters. "We had to suffer a bit, which I think is really good for us. To defend the box the way we did was really good. (In the) second half we didn't keep it as well as I would have liked, but to get the win was very important.

"I liked the fact we had to suffer without the ball because that is an area we have worked on a lot this week. I am confident we will get (more) goals. Playing against a back five it is not easy to create chances, and we did."

"Suffer" was clearly the catchword of the day — Southgate used it liberally when addressing his players post-game, and the message had clearly gotten through.

Defender Marc Guehi, who performed strongly in his first appearance in a tournament for England, continued the theme.

"This was very, very important," Guehi said. "If we are going to go far in this tournament, we are going to have to suffer, and it was a great test for us. It is a good learning curve for the team, and hopefully we can take it on to the next game."

Perhaps more than any other nation, England has a fan base that is prone to jump into overexcited — and sometimes unrealistic — waves of expectation as