England manager appreciates friendly intensity in win over Bosnia

England started their preparation for the Euros 2024 in Germany with a 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday evening at Newcastle United’s St James’s Park.

It was evident that Southgate was preparing to trim his provisional squad to a final 26 on Friday, June 7, before it is revealed on Saturday. However, the Three Lions will still face Iceland in Wembley this week before their first game of the tournament against Serbia on June 16 in Gelsenkirchen.

On the night, an early second-half penalty from Cole Palmer was followed by goals from Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane after a goalless first half.

England manager Gareth Southgate was happy about the performances of some of the players on the night while appreciating the quality of the Bosnians.

“I thought the intensity of the game was good. We had players that needed minutes, and we needed a competitive game. The opposition was dogged, so we had to be patient and keep probing – we felt our quality would tell. There were some good individual performances, and hopefully, we have come through with no issues.” Southgate said.

There was a start for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, while Wharton & Branthwaite came on for their England debuts in the second half.

Ollie Watkins started upfront ahead of Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen, and Eberechi Eze in the first meeting between the two teams. Jordan Pickford started in goal, while Trent Alexander-Arnold played in a midfield base of two alongside Conor Gallagher. The back four consisted of Ezri Konsa, Lewis Dunk, Marc Guehi, and Kieran Trippier, although they were barely tested by the visitors.

England are in Group C of the competition with Serbia, Denmark, and Slovenia. Elsewhere, Germany and Ukraine played a goalless draw while Albania secured a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein, while Croatia thrashed North Macedonia 3-0.