CRUNCH & JUDEY

Bellingham shrugs off Serb fouls to get England off to a winning start

- ANDY LINES and PAUL BYRNE

AN hour before kick-off a rainbow appeared above the stadium, as England prepared to chase that elusive pot of gold.

The atmosphere was incredible as fans in high spirits unfurled hundreds of St George flags ahead of England's first test of the Euros 2024.

The flags, emblazoned with the names of football clubs and towns and villages, seemed to fill every bit of available space.

They came from across the country - from Barrow and Spennymoor to Redruth and Dover.

Many of the 40,000-strong army of Three Lions fans who flocked to Gelsenkirchen in western Germany managed to get tickets for the game and England fans outnumbered Serbia's by at least two to one.

There were a number of WAGs in the crowd including captain Harry Kane's wife Katie Goodland and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford's partner Megan Davison.

And full-throated England fans made their presence felt as they bellowed their favourite anthems, including Don't take me Home and Football's Coming Home.

They also taunted the Tartan Army by singing: "Scotland get battered everywhere they go" to remind them of their team's 5-1 thrashing by Germany on Friday night.