Matic makes England v Serbia prediction

Saturday 15 June 2024 07:00

Nemanja Matic is predicting an entertaining game on Sunday, when his nation Serbia take on England in Gelsenkirchen.

We asked the 35-year-old, who left United in 2022 and now plays for Lyon, what he expects to happen at the Veltins Arena in the Group C opener, which kicks off at 20:00 BST.

“Hello everyone at Man Utd,” he replied, via Instagram.

“Looking forward to it! I hope the score is going to be 2:2.”

Read Matic’s messages Gallery

Nemanja has been predicting what will happen during England v Serbia…

While England are among the favourites to win the competition, Serbia have qualified for the first time as an independent nation.

Dragan Stojkovic’s men finished runners-up behind Hungary to book a place at the tournament in Germany and are looking to progress to the knockout rounds of a major finals for the first time since 2000, when they competed as Yugoslavia.

Matic, whose international career spanned from 2008 to 2019, has also identified a primary threat for the Three Lions to take into consideration.

“Maybe [Aleksandar] Mitrovic, but English fans know him,” he said.

Mitrovic is now plying his trade for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, after eight years in England with Newcastle United and Fulham.

The striker is Serbia’s all-time leading scorer, with 58 international goals to his name, and will look to combine with the likes of Dusan Tadic and club-mate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to spring a surprise on Gareth Southgate’s men.

The other sides in Group C, Slovenia and Denmark – featuring Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund – go head-to-head in Stuttgart earlier on Sunday.

The top two teams in each pool qualify automatically for the knockout stages, alongside the four best third-placed sides.

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Saturday 15 June 2024 07:00