Hey, Jude.

Picture Credit: Getty Images and BBC Sport

Gelsenkirchen is notorious for uninspiring England performances. The Veltins Arena was the scene for the Three Lions 2006 World Cup Quarter Final penalty shootout defeat to Portugal.

Wayne Rooney was sent off for a stamp, Cristiano Ronaldo became the most hated man in the country and Sven-Göran Eriksson’s tenure with the ‘golden generation’ would end without a major trophy.

However, for those who suffer with England PTSD, the first 30 minutes of Sunday’s match against Serbia was the perfect tonic.

England were utilising their array of attacking talent.

Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker bombed on from full back, Bukayo Saka tortured Filip Kostić and Strahinja Pavlović on the right and Jude Bellingham was dominating an international tournament like he has for Real Madrid in La Liga and the Champions League.

It was these combinations that provided the only goal of the game in the 13th minute.

Bellingham played the ball out wide to Walker, who then played a sublime through ball to Saka. The Arsenal man outpaced Pavlović before delivering a cross into the perfect area.

It was met by an unsavable header from Bellingham who had driven into the box after starting the move.

England would continue to attack after taking the lead and may have made it 2-0 had there been someone to tap in an opportunity made by Walker after another surging run into the box.

Serbia improved in the final 15 minutes of the half.

Dušan Vlahović and Sergej Milinković-Savić became more influential, and it became clear that England were going to have to suffer for the three points.

By the 50th minute, England had lost all control of the game by needlessly squandering possession and the midfield forced to retreat to their own third of pitch.

It was now time for England’s defence to step up, having been widely criticised in the build-up to the tournament.

But, John Stones and Marc Guéhi were calm and dominant at centre back.

Snuffing out several opportunities that would have changed the direction of the game had the Serbians been rewarded for their effort.

England did re-establish some control when Gareth Southgate brought on Conor Gallagher for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

There will be a conversation to be had on whether his partnership with Declan Rice should continue in the coming games.

Nonetheless, Gallagher’s introduction got England up the pitch and by the time West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen entered the fray, England were creating again.

Bowen provided Harry Kane’s first and only chance of the match, beating his man on the right-hand side before delivering an appetising cross that looked set to calm English nerves.

However, Kanes header was brilliantly saved by Pedrag Rajkovic, tipping the ball onto the underside of the crossbar before being cleared from danger.

The Serbians came again, and had it not been for Jordan Pickford, Vlahović would have scored the goal of the tournament so far.

A long ball from Dušan Tadić was initially defended by Stones, but his header only reached the Juventus forward on the edge of the 18-yard box.

Then, Vlahović skilfully turned away from Rice an unleashed a powerful shot towards goal. Fortunately, the England keeper saw it coming and managed to tip the ball over the bar.

The England goal was subjected to another long range shot as the game concluded.

It went high and wide but that didn’t stop Pickford berating his teammates for giving the Serbians the opportunity of a late equaliser.

As the final whistle blew there was a sense of relief. A good 30-minute performance followed by an anxiety ridden second half.

It was also a game that posed questions.

How do you get the best out of Phil Foden in an England shirt? The premier league player of the year was largely anonymous out on the left.

There may be some uncomfortable conversations for Southgate if Foden doesn’t rekindle some of his Manchester City form in the weeks ahead.

Kane also had an underwhelming game, touching the ball only twice in the first half.

Whilst dropping back into midfield draws ire from pundits and supporters alike, his ability to draw fouls and run the clock down was invaluable.

However, England won’t be successful without their record goal scorer and Kane must be more involved if they progress to the knockout rounds.

Their next match in Group C is against Denmark on Thursday evening in Stuttgart.

But for now, the plaudits belong to Jude Bellingham.

Who even in England’s darkest moments in Gelsenkirchen provided leadership well beyond his years to drag his team to victory.

This game will be remembered for his performance, the choruses of ‘Hey, Jude’ that echoed across the Veltins arena and his role in exorcising a ghost of England’s past.