Cole Palmer Is Undroppable: 4 Things We Learned from England's Win Over Bosnia And Herzegovina

• England comprehensively beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in a friendly match on Monday, June 3, in preparation for the upcoming Euros
• Cole Palmer, Harry Kane, and Trent Alexander-Arnold were on target for the Three Lions, who initially struggled to breach the defences
• There were several things fans picked up from the game ahead of what is possibly Gareth Southgate’s last chance for glory as England boss

England showed fans what they should expect in the upcoming Euro 2024 with a routine win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday, June 4.

The Three Lions struggled to break down a sturdy defence in the first half, but the deadlock was eventually broken in the 60th minute when Ezri Konsa went down in the box.

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Chelsea ace, Cole Palmer, stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards to give his nation the lead.

Trent Alexander Arnold made it 2-0 in the 85th minute, benefiting from a good ball from Jack Grealish, while Bayern Munich star, Harry Kane, summed up the routine win with a shot past Nikola Vasilj late on, per The Guardian.

Sports Brief looks at the main talking points from England’s warm-up win.

England vs Bosnia and Herzegovina: What we learned

Cole Palmer can be the difference for England

Chelsea attacker, Palmer, has seemingly transcended his impressive form for his club into the England national team.

His first goal for The Three Lions could be seen as a prelude to better things to come, with the youngster enjoying a flawless record from the penalty spot this season.

Many England reserves could get dropped

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Gareth Southgate made several changes to his squad on Monday, as several key players were still recovering from the FA Cup final and the recent UEFA Champions League showdown at Wembley.

Aside from Palmer’s brilliance, England’s reserve players failed to impress, as Bosnia and Herzegovina had an easy time sitting back and quelling most of the attacks.

The final 26-man squad for the Euros is set to be named on Saturday, June 8, and there is a good chance some players who played on Monday will miss out.

‘Fringe’ players in the England squad will have one last chance to impress in the game against Iceland a day before on Friday, June 7.

England are still unconvincing

Despite the 3-0 win, which was courtesy of late goals, England struggled to break down Bosnia throughout the game.

Bosnia looked comfortable just sitting back and defending against Southgate’s side, who appeared to be running out of ideas before Palmer’s opener.

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The BBC’s player rankings painted a grim picture for England, as only Eberechi Eze, Alexander-Arnold, and Jack Grealish had ratings higher than seven.

This has been the story of Southgate’s tenure as England boss, with the manager always falling short whenever things don’t go according to his plan.

Alexander-Arnold in midfield is a huge gamble

Southgate will have a tough decision about how to get the best out of Alexander-Arnold.

While the Liverpool player has had no trouble settling in at club level, he has always had challenges in the England squad, perhaps because of the competition brought by other talented right-backs like Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier.

This forced Southgate to play the Liverpool ace as a double-pivot against Bosnia alongside Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher.

Besides his well-taken goal, Alexander-Arnold looked lost in midfield at times during Monday's game. Things only settled down once Crystal Palace midfielder, Adam Wharton, was introduced for his debut.

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It will be interesting to see how Southgate utilises the Liverpool right-back at the Euros, mainly because the 25-year-old has so much to offer.

Euro 2024 qualified teams

Sports Brief also previously highlighted all teams that qualified for Euro 2024 after the playoffs concluded.

The last teams to qualify included Ukraine, Poland, and Georgia, who rounded off the list in March this year.

Poland booked their place after beating Wales 5-4 in a penalty shootout in the play-off finals on March 26.