Cole Palmer takes his biggest step yet but England’s other fringe players fail to fire
Gareth Southgate picked a team of Euro 2024 hopefuls but few impressed enough to book a seat on the plane in a scrappy performance.
Go back less than a year andCole Palmerseemed destined for a loan. Instead,he is now headingforEuro 2024, perhaps thebreakout star of the club seasonwith a first international goal to his name as well. Chelsea’s player of the season, a man Manchester Citymay rue selling, has 28 goals, in the shirts of two clubs and now his country.
He has scored in the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup, the Community Shield, the European Super Cup and now forEngland. If the caveat that his maiden strike in his country’s colours was from the penalty spot, plenty of his goals are, but whatever the stage, they seem taken with nonchalant confidence.
A friendly win overBosnia and Herzegovinamay cement Palmer’s place inGareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad; not merely for his penalty-taking prowess – though that could prove handy in Germany – but a performance where he had come to look England’s likeliest source of a goal even before he scored one.Trent Alexander-ArnoldandHarry Kaneadded more as Bosnia and Herzegovina were beaten; the Liverpool vice-captain with a classy volley, the England captain with a predatory finish. An illustration of Alexander-Arnold’s quality may be timely, a reminder of Kane’s ability to pilfer goals needless.
But Palmer took a bigger step forward than either.
Cole Palmer takes biggest step yet but England’s other fringe players fail to fire
England 3-0 Bosnia: Gareth Southgate picked a team of Euro 2024 hopefuls but few impressed enough to book a seat on the plane in a scrappy performance
Chris Wilson3 June 2024 22:05
FT: England 3-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
So, a couple of selection headaches for Gareth Southgate after some impressive performances from Ebere Eze, Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Jack Grealish, Adam Wharton and Jarrad Branthwaite had encouraging cameos, while Jarrod Bowen, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins did their chances no harm either.
For the sake of debate, based on that game, if I were to drop seven players from the 33-man squad, they would be:
James Trafford
Jarell Quansah
Lewis Dunk
Curtis Jones
James Maddison
Ivan Toney
With one of Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton to miss out, depending on your preference.
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A memorable night for both Jarrad Branthwaite and Adam Wharton, who become the latest England debutants.
Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah and James Trafford will be hoping to join them on Friday.
Chris Wilson3 June 2024 23:40
FT: England 3-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
A couple of goal highlights for you. First up is Alexander-Arnold’s sublime finish...
...and Harry Kane’s 63rd England goal!
Chris Wilson3 June 2024 23:20
FT: England 3-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Grealish is another man who did his chances no harm today. Despite mixed form for City, he offers a little more control and finesse than Bowen, Eze and Gordon.
Chris Wilson3 June 2024 23:00
Key England dates
A reminder of the key dates for England ahead of a busy summer. They will play one more warm-up game before the official squad announcement and the beginning of Euro 2024.
7 June - final warm-up match against Iceland at Wembley, 7.45pm BST.
8 June - announcement of final 26-man squad.
16 June - opening game of Euro 2024, against Serbia at 8pm BST.
20 June - second group game of Euro 2024, against Denmark at 5pm BST.
25 June - final game of Euro 2024 group stage, against Slovenia at 8pm BST.
The round of 16, if England were to qualify, would begin from 29 June, with England playing on 30 June in Gelsenkirchen at 5pm BST if they manage to top the group.
Chris Wilson3 June 2024 22:45
Englandmanagedto secure a winin one of theirtwo warm-up matchesbefore departing for Germany andEuro 2024as they downedBosnia and Herzegovina3-0.
However,it was far from a complete performanceandGareth Southgatetook the opportunity to try out some of the members of his squad he might not have seen a lot of.
Cole Palmerbroke the deadlock from the penalty spot beforeTrent Alexander-Arnolddoubled the home side’s advantage with a well-timed volley. Late in the match,Harry Kane, who started on the bench, was in the right place to tap home England’s third of the night.
Selected ratings:
Marc Guehi, 5
Looked a bit nervous and was shown a yellow card in a friendly for a sub-par challenge, and otherwise did not have a busy game.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, 8
Wearing an uncharacteristic number eight on the back of his shirt, he played some clever passes through the middle and won England a couple of corners. He provided a great cross-field pass to dangerously free Grealish down the left late on. Then hit a well-timed volley for England’s second goal.
Eberechi Eze, 7
Eze was one of the main bright sparks in the match. He made a strong powerful run between the lines and caused problems for defenders with his movement, pace and dribbling before he was substituted on the hour mark for Jack Grealish.
Below are the ratings for each player.
England player ratings from their Euro 2024 warm-up win over Bosnia
England 3-0 Bosnia: Gareth Southgate got a good look at his players ahead of Euro 2024 but few stood out
Chris Wilson3 June 2024 22:30
FT: England 3-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Nothing concrete will be known until 8 June, but a betting man would wager that Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold have played their way on the plane tonight.
Eze was bright, and some would say man of the match, and if he plays like that on Friday it will be hard to deny him a place on the plane.
Adam Wharton was extremely composed throughout his debut and would make an interesting midfield alternative, whether or not Kobbie Mainoo is on the plane.
Konsa, Gallagher, Bowen and Watkins were all solid if unspectacular, with Marc Guehi struggling on one or two occasions (though he possesses the talent to be in the squad).
On tonight’s evidence, Lewis Dunk and Jarell Quansah will be the centre-backs who drop out of the squad, with Branthwaite showing an accomplished performance.
Not a good night for Curtis Jones or James Trafford, who weren’t given the chance to prove themselves.
Chris Wilson3 June 2024 22:20
FT: England 3-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Gareth Southgate is next to speak to the media. He agrees that he got “what he needed” from the performance.
“[There was] good tempo to the game, we just had to be patient. In the end the scoreline reflected the performance.
He adds that he thought both Palmer and Eze were “very good”, and “both played with freedom”.
He praises Eze’s movement and ability to take players on, while lamenting that Palmer could’ve had more opportunities but was “trying to be too precise”.
On Harry Kane, he says that the captain has “trained all week no problem, so he looks in good shape”.
He finishes by saying that the performance has given him some extra headaches, “but that’s a good thing”.
“[There were] lots of individual things I was really pleased with.”
Chris Wilson3 June 2024 22:02
FT: England 3-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Harry Kane and Cole Palmer are first in front of the Channel 4 cameras.
Kane calls it “a really good game for us”, adding that “it’s been a really good camp”.
“[It’s] good preparation, and overall a good night for us.”
Cole Palmer says it’s “a dream feeling” to score his first goal for England. When asked whether he thinks he’s done enough to be on the plane to Germany, he shrugs and says: “Not sure, hope so. It’s been a long season, I’m just trying to find my feet, but hopefully I’ll be going to Germany”.
Kane praises Palmer’s “unbelievable season”, before adding that he’s “feeling good” and “should be ready to go for the group stage”.
“A lot of the end of season [and him missing games] was precaution. In the end it was a good chance to get a good break after a tough season.”
Chris Wilson3 June 2024 21:52
