Gary Lineker 'BANS' Micah Richards from chanting 'it's coming home'

Gary Lineker jokingly banned Micah Richards from saying 'it's coming home' during BBC's live broadcast of the Three Lions' Euro 2024 opening match against Serbia on Sunday.

Gareth Southgate's side climbed to the top of Group C after Jude Bellingham's stooping header inside 13 minutes saw England seal a 1-0 victory at the VELTINS Arena in Gelsenkirchen.

It means the Three Lions have now won all four opening games at a major international tournament played under Gareth Southgate.

But with Lineker eager not to get his hopes up or jinx England's chances of claiming their first title at a major tournament since 1966, the former Everton and Tottenham forward was involved in a light-hearted exchange with Richards during the live broadcast of the match.

Speaking on Southgate's decision to leave several key players out of his squad, including the likes of Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford out of his squad, Richards believed some fans may have started to question the England manager's calls.

'I think (a warmer reception) comes with him being bold,' Richards explained. 'Leaving (Jack) Grealish at home, leaving (Marcus) Rashford (out of the squad). We all would have had Grealish in our squad. Maybe fans were thinking ‘he’s a little bit safe’.

'That’s what I would say. But he has done a brilliant job, he really has. Harmony in the squad has been brilliant, just now with this emerging talent, if we could just bring it home…'

But at that point, Lineker stepped in and jokingly told Richards that the iconic line from Baddiel and Skinner's anthem from Euro 96 was banned.

'Here we go… that’s banned, that’s bad luck that thing… don’t say it!' The Match of the day host joked.

England will look ahead to their next group game against Slovenia on Thursday but there are some things Southgate will need to address if England are to go deep in the tournament.

In the second half, England appeared to take their feet off the gas pedal, with their 1-0 lead with some players struggling to help the Three Lions create clear-cut chances.

Phil Foden was one who struggled to have an impact, with Richards stating that he felt 'sad' to see the Manchester City star fail to gel in Southgate's system.

'It makes me sad when I see a player of Phil Foden's quality in and out of games,' he told the BBC.

'At Manchester City it is all coordinated with Pep Guardiola and the system that they play, we need to find ways to get him involved.

'When he is coming from a wide position it is difficult for him, he goes from pressing out wide to coming back inside and he needs a full back to go and overlap so he can get those combinations going.'

The England manager also gave his verdict after the match, stating that his England side 'had to suffer' during the match.

'They are a strong team. We had to suffer a bit which I think is really good for us. I think to defend the box the way we did was really good for us,' Southgate told the BBC.

'I was really pleased with a lot of the play. Second half we didn't keep it as well as I would have liked but to get the win is very important.'