Gary Lineker and his fellow BBC pundits were on the receiving end of a “big hornet attack” as they attempted to provide half-time analysis of England’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia.
Lineker was joined by Micah Richards, Rio Ferdinand and Cesc Fabregas as the Three Lions led 1-0 at the break through Jude Bellingham’s header, but the quartet moved to their outside studio since the pre-match indoor coverage.
But as the programme switched away from BBC reporter Kelly Somers’ interview with former England and Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart, Lineker revealed that the four pundits had come under attack from a swarm of hornets.
“Second half we’re looking forward to that,” Lineker said, before describing the scenes that were unfolding outside. “We’ve been attacked by big hornets flying around…”
But ever the professional, Lineker turned the focus elsewhere as Richards pointed fun at his former Manchester City team-mate Hart: “Can we talk about Joe’s tight t-shirt though? The guns were pumping.”
Lineker joked that Hart was trying to “compete with big Meeks” as he joked with his Beeb colleague after the hornet attack, before taking a look back at the opening 45 minutes in which the host described half-time as a “good time to reset” for Gareth Southgate.
Ferdinand agreed after a strong finish to the first half from Serbia: “100 per cent. In there (the dressing room) he (Southgate) will be telling them ‘be aggressive’, by that I mean to be on the front foot, do not get pushed back into your own box.
“Like we said before the game, the only real danger they pose is from wide areas, playing direct into (Aleksandar) Mitrovic and (Dusan) Vlahovic so stay away from that, engage wide if you can, and make sure you’re comfortable and composed in possession.”
Bellingham met Bukayo Saka’s cross with a looping header after 13 minutes to score England’s first goal of the tournament, with the Real Madrid midfielder the star of the show, but England were forced to endure some nervy moments as Serbia posed threats of their own at Arena AufSchalke.
