Gareth Southgate admitted it would be “difficult” to eliminate seven players from his squad by midnight on Friday, after England’s comfortable 3-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina finally produced several solid auditions for Euro.
Southgate is preparing for the tournament with 33 players, but can only submit 26 names to Uefa until Friday. 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 were among the strong arguments for inclusion.
“Eberechi played with real freedom and real swagger,” said Southgate, who watched Palmer score his first goal for England from the penalty spot before Trent Alexander‑Arnold scored a superb second and Harry Kane came off the substitutes’ bench to save the third. “And I thought Cole tied the game together really well. It was nice to see his first goal. Trents was a great finish, he made a very difficult finish look easy.”
Alexander-Arnold started in central midfield before switching back to right-back, but has impressed in both roles and his Manager said he could be used “very effectively” in both positions in Germany this month.
By then, seven players will be disappointed. “Of course it will be difficult,” Southgate said. “I want to make fair and bold decisions, but these decisions will always be subjective. We turn a lot of plates. I will discuss things with the staff and we will find the best way to do it.”
England initially struggled to deconstruct their tenacious opponents, configured with a defensive quintet. “I am satisfied with the intensity of the game,” Southgate said. “It was important in terms of the body aspect. It was important to play against a chain of five, it could meet us in Germany, especially in the first two games, so we have to find solutions.
“But if you remain patient and continue to investigate, the game will open as it was. I think in the end the score reflected the performance. There have been many good individual performances. Eberechi stood out and I thought Conor Gallagher was important in midfield.”
Kane was preparing to go in when the penalty was awarded shortly after an hour and Southgate revealed that the England captain had the “audacity” to ask to be sent off in time to take it. “That would never happen,” he said.
Jack Grealish did well after coming off the bench, but may have struggled to make the final cut. “We like having him in the group, he’s a great character to work with,” Southgate said, revealing nothing before congratulating another replacement, 20-year-old Adam Wharton: “he has the ability to see an image. I think he showed in this cameo what we saw in training.”