Gareth Southgate admitted it is going to be “difficult” to axe seven players from his squad by Friday’s midnight deadline after England’s ultimately comfortable 3-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina produced several strong auditions for Euro 2024.
Southgate is preparing for the tournament with 33 players but can submit only 26 names to Uefa by the Friday deadline. The victory at St James’ Park on Monday night only added to his dilemmas as Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze ranked among those making strong cases for inclusion.
“Eberechi played with real freedom and swagger,” said Southgate, who watched Palmer score his first goal for England from the penalty spot before Trent Alexander‑Arnold volleyed a stunning second and Harry Kane stepped off the substitutes’ bench to register the third. “And I thought Cole linked play very well. It was lovely to see his first goal. Trent’s was a beautiful finish, he made a very difficult finish look straightforward.”
Alexander-Arnold began in central midfield before reverting to right‑back but impressed in both roles and his manager said he could be “highly effective” deployed in either position in Germany this month.
By then seven players will have been disappointed. “Of course, it’s going to be difficult,” Southgate said. “I want to make fair and brave decisions but those decisions are always going to be subjective. We’re spinning a lot of plates. I’ll talk things through with the staff and we’ll find the best way of doing it.”
England struggled initially to deconstruct their stubborn opponents, configured with a defensive quintet. “I’m pleased with the intensity of the game,” Southgate said. “It was important in terms of the physical aspect. It was important to play against a back five, we might face that in Germany, especially in the first two games, so we need to find solutions.
“But if you keep patient and keep probing the game will open up as it did. I think, in the end, the scoreline reflected the performance. There were numerous good individual performances. Eberechi caught the eye and I thought Conor Gallagher was important in midfield.”
Kane was preparing to come on when the penalty was awarded just after the hour and Southgate revealed England’s captain had the “audacity” to ask to be sent on in time to take it. “That was never going to happen,” he said.
Jack Grealish did well after stepping off the bench but could struggle to make the final cut. “We love having him in the group, he’s a great character to work with,” said Southgate, giving nothing away before singling out another substitute, the 20-year-old Adam Wharton, for praise, saying: “He’s got that ability to see a picture. I think he showed in that cameo what we’ve seen in training.”
