Southgate has to decide to reduce his preliminary squad from 33 to a 26-man squad, with the likes of Watkins, Eze, Bowen and many more trying to prove themselves worthy of being on that flight to Germany in less than two weeks.
Firstly, the game at St James Park in Newcastle just a few days after the Lioness's defeat there to France in their euro qualifiers.
Let's give up a recap of the game. It was expected to be full of goals; however, fans were left dissatisfied with the result of the B-team lineup with Kane on the bench and United and City players not being available due to being given a week off after the FA Cup final.
It was a good night for Trent Alexander Arnold and Cole Palmer, who both proved worthy. Cole Palmer is a possible top 5 penalty-taker for England due to his 100% penalty-taking record this season. Another bright spot came from Eze, who played the best game in the first half. It was not the win despite the poor performance of this team. This will unlikely be the team playing Serbia on the 16th of June, but it was an opportunity for Gareth to see who could join the flight to Germany. However, with the Friday deadline looming, this game was the only audition on the big stage before the Iceland game on Friday and the deadline picking for the 26-man squad.
When asked about the final squad, south said it was still an ongoing discussion with the squad, which has significance for all the players. Hence, they need to take their time to make the right decision concerning the tiresome effort the players have put in for this opportunity for their country. Frustration with goals could be due to a lack of play and connection within the players, not being a team but i. Still, individuals together, but also due to Bosnia's backline set-up playing a defensive game, making it hard to capitalise on any Palmer fact touches. The lack of intensity is common in pre-tournament friendly with the pressure to perform to be selected but also not wanting to risk injuries of any sort. There needed to be a change with Kane and Maddison, and later, Jack Grealish helped along with the second and third goals. From the outside, that was a good win, but the goals did not reflect the tempo or performance on the pitch. Plus, the opposition must commend Bosnia on maintaining a cool head and only allowing England three goals, especially as it was their manager's first game in charge.
"We had an opponent who was dogged and determined, so there was a good tempo to the game. It was a good workout. We had to be patient. In the end, the scoreline reflected the performance.
"Once you break the resistance, the confidence comes, and we started with a team without many caps on the field. There was always a chance of a sticky start.
"Both [Palmer and Eze] were excellent. They played with freedom. Eze has got a lovely movement and power to go past people. I'm happy. Cole was trying to be too precise to get the touch before the shot. If he got his shot away a little earlier, he could have had a couple of goals himself.
"Our plan was half an hour today [for Kane], and he'll start on Friday. He's trained all week. He looks in good shape.
"We've got through the last few days with no big problems. That's important. We needed to get through these matches and the finals for a clearer picture. The guys who have been rehabbing have been progressing well."
It's been made clear there needs to be backup for Kane if anything catastrophic happens, but who will that be?
Add comment
Comments