England slam Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0 in pre-Euro friendly tie
England's Harry Kane shoots at the goal during the international friendly match against Bosnia-Herzegovina at St. James' Park, Newcastle, U.K., June 3, 2024. (Reuters Photo)


England launched their European Championship preparations with a commanding 3-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina at St. James' Park on Monday. Goals from Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and captain Harry Kane sealed the win against the non-qualifiers.

After a sluggish first half, England found their rhythm. Palmer, who has netted nine penalties for Chelsea this season, broke the deadlock in the 60th minute with his first England goal from the spot after Ezri Konsa was brought down in the box.

"It's a great feeling to get my first England goal," Palmer told Channel 4, who interviewed him alongside Kane, a late-game substitute.

"Of course, Kane would have taken it if he had been on the pitch," a grinning Palmer added.

Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold, one of the bright spots on the night, doubled their lead in the 85th minute with his third goal for England when he fired home from a tight angle off a beautiful pass from Manchester City's Jack Grealish.

Bayern Munich striker Kane, who has 12 goals in his last 12 international appearances, scored perhaps one of the easiest goals of his career four minutes later when he poked the ball in from close range after Jarrod Bowen's shot hit Konsa in a scramble in front of goal.

"I'm feeling good," said Kane, who had not played for Bayern since May 8 due to an ongoing back issue. "A lot of the end of the season was a precaution. It was a good chance to get a good break at the end of the season. I feel fine.

"It's about getting minutes. I'm not someone who takes too long to get sharp."

Several key players, including midfielder Jude Bellingham, who won the Champions League with Real Madrid on Saturday, were missing, but the match was much about manager Gareth Southgate deciding on which seven players he must cut before Friday's deadline for their 26-man squad.

He liked what he saw for much of Monday's match.

"We had players that needed minutes and we needed a competitive game," Southgate said. "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."

The second half salvaged what looked destined to be a disappointing night for the sold-out crowd at St. James' Park in England's first game away from Wembley in a year.

With a talent-laden squad and after their runners-up finish at the last Euros, the Three Lions carry high expectations to Germany.

Southgate now faces a tough task in selecting his squad, although several players, including Alexander-Arnold, Eberechi Eze, Conor Gallagher and Palmer, stood out on Monday.

The manager's job is made more difficult by the fact Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Anthony Gordon are recovering from injuries and were not available on Monday, and Southgate chose to rest Bukayo Saka and John Stones.

Six of England's starting 11 arrived at Monday's match with fewer than 10 caps.

England hosts Iceland in their final friendly on Friday at Wembley before departing for Germany.

They face Serbia in their opening Group C match on June 16 in Gelsenkirchen.