'England defence not as big an issue as you might think'

England's defence is one of the main talking points before we face Serbia, but I don't see it being as big an issue at Euro 2024 as it might appear.

I know there are doubts about our strength at the back, with Harry Maguire’s absence from the tournament meaning Marc Guehi is set to partner John Stones in our first game in Group C on Sunday.

People will say it is a new centre-half pairing because they have only played together twice before - for a total of 128 minutes - in a 4-0 defeat by Hungary in 2022, then for the first half of last week’s friendly loss to Iceland.

But inside the England camp there will be no concerns - I was in enough squads in my career to know that they will be ready.

The way teams are selected at club level these days, modern centre-halves are used to having different defensive partners. Last season at Celtic, for example, we changed our personnel all the time without altering our system or affecting our results, and the same applies across the back four.

I would imagine Gareth Southgate will set things up so whoever plays it won't matter. That way each player can bring their own individual qualities to their position, but the team will always be well organised.

Guehi and Stones will know each other well from the time they have spent together in England squads in the past couple of years, and they have also been training together every day in the run-up to this tournament.

I am sure they will feel very comfortable with each other, and they will understand exactly what their roles are.

Unless England do not concede any goals at all, their defence is always going to be criticised because of how much quality we have in midfield and attack.

It's seen as a weakness, despite the fact we have in our back four Stones and Kyle Walker, who have both played a key role in helping City win every trophy going in recent seasons.

Alongside them is Kieran Trippier and behind them is goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. They both helped us reach the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup and the final of the last Euros, so we are not exactly short of experience or quality.

Of course, Maguire is not available - but my view is quite cold when it comes to that. At past tournaments he has knitted everything together at the back for England, and he probably would have done the same this time too - but he is not here, so he is not even a talking point. It's just about the players who are in the squad now.

Over the past few months, Southgate has had plenty of time to work out who fits best into his team if either Stones or Maguire are out, and he also knows who is in form at the moment.

Of all the centre-halves in the country, it looks like he has chosen Guehi and, from my point of view, I don't think it matters that he is not a household name. If I was playing behind him, then it would not bother me.

The focus is on the Crystal Palace defender right now because, aged 23 and with 11 caps, he is relatively young and inexperienced, but he has been trusted before when Maguire has been injured.

There is a reason he has been chosen to play again at such an important time. Let's get behind him and look forward to him blossoming on the biggest stage, going into a tournament we are trying to win.

Serbia's big threat will be former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. If you want to keep him quiet then you have to deal with crosses into the box, or preferably cut out the service to him completely.

That will be England's plan but, realistically, unless you are playing a team that is seven leagues below you then it is almost impossible to execute.

The boys will have done their homework, but if the perfect ball comes in, there is a good chance Mitrovic will score.

You cannot go into a game being too worried about that happening, though. I have said this before, and some people perceived it as being a strange outlook, but England need to be OK with conceding goals.

By that, I mean England have got far more firepower than Serbia, but they will still carry a threat against us.

If we concede on Sunday, whether it means we go 1-0 down or have a lead taken away from us, the most important thing is that we still have a plan and also the confidence to stick to it.

Opening games are rarely straightforward at any tournament, as England have found out plenty of times before. I expect us to win on Sunday but, as I said, anything can happen.

We coasted past Iran at the 2022 World Cup, but that is the only time at seven major finals since 2006 where we've been ahead at half-time of our first match.

Of course we want to score early on Sunday and go on win 3-0 but, even if we have a setback against Serbia, there is no reason to panic.

Instead, we have to believe in the focus that Southgate and his team have had over the past 18 months, getting ready for the next four weeks.

As someone who has been in these squads before, I am telling you that is how long we have prepared for these Euros. It is not just about the past couple of weeks and the Iceland friendly, there is way more to it than that.

Even if we go on to win this tournament - and I think we can - things probably won't be perfect from start to finish.

Joe Hart was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.