Jarrod Bowen was bursting with pride after helping England secure a winning start at UEFA Euro 2024 against Serbia, but hinted there is still more to come from both him and the team at the tournament.
The 27-year-old was included in boss Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for the finals following an incredible domestic campaign for West Ham United, during which he netted 20 goals in all competitions and was subsequently crowned Hammer of the Year.
Having completed the full 90 minutes of the Three Lions’ warm-up friendly 3-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina at the start of June, Bowen featured in the side’s first competitive outing of the summer as a 76th-minute replacement for Bukayo Saka in Germany.
With Jude Bellingham’s early opener having put England in control in Gelsenkirchen, Serbia had gradually worked their way back into the contest, and Hammers No20 Bowen entered the field of play tasked with swinging the momentum back in the favour of those in white.
And he duly made an immediate impact, swinging over a cross from the right that found the head of captain Harry Kane, whose effort was pushed on to the crossbar by Serbia goalkeeper Predrag Rajković.
On his ninth cap, and first appearance at a senior international tournament, Bowen impressed at both ends of the field, playing his part in an eventual 1-0 win that moved England to the top of Group C after one round of games.
Further group games remain against Denmark (Thursday 20 June, 5pm BST) and Slovenia (Tuesday 25 June, 8pm BST), who drew 1-1 earlier on Sunday, and Bowen is looking to build on the Serbia win from both an individual and team point of view, as England ultimately look to go one better than their runners-up finish at the delayed Euro 2020 finals three years ago.
“Getting selected for the squad was one thing, and then I told myself that I wanted to set foot on the pitch,” Bowen said.
“I’ve managed to do that, and on an occasion where we were defending a lead. To be part of that, in such significant circumstances, was really special for me personally, but getting the result was also really important for the team.
“It was the first group game, which is always huge, and we’ve got the three points that we can take into Thursday [against Denmark] now. Hopefully we can get another positive result in that game.”
