Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer make strong cases for inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s Euro squad

NEWCASTLE – England manager Gareth Southgate was pleased with several new faces making a solid case for inclusion in his Euro 2024 squad in the 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 3, though he conceded there would be some difficult decisions to make.

Cole Palmer netted his first goal for England from the penalty spot, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Kane also scored in the team’s penultimate friendly at St James’ Park before heading to Germany for the European Championship.

Southgate now needs to cut seven players to meet Uefa’s 26-player squad by the June 7 deadline, an almost enviable job given what has been touted as one of the most talented groups England have assembled in a while.

“It’s a decision that we understand the significance for all of the players and so, we’re giving it the respect and consideration it deserves really to make fair, right decisions,” the manager said.

“It’s always going to be subjective, and we’ve got to balance what we need in every area of the pitch as well. So that’s the added complication.”

Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze “caught the eye”, said Southgate, adding: “Eze played with that freedom and swagger. The way he started the game and the way he glides past people and the power that he shows.”

On his scorers, he said: “I thought Cole linked the game well for us. Lovely for him to get his first goal. And we know Trent’s qualities. It’s a beautiful finish.”

Adam Wharton, the 20-year-old debutant, was among the players praised by the England boss.

Southgate said: “He receives well, he’s very composed and he plays forward, which sounds simple but is not a simple thing to do.

“He plays a lot of one-touch football and can see a picture when the ball arrives with him.”

But Ollie Watkins, Conor Gallagher and Jarrod Bowen might rue missing their chance to impress.

“A team that didn’t have a lot of caps on the field when we started, but I think it showed the way that we work that people feel comfortable in an England shirt pretty quickly and that was lovely to see,” he said.

The Three Lions host Iceland at Wembley on June 7 before flying to Germany, where they kick off their Group C campaign against Serbia on June 16.

“It’s not getting the best individuals in, there’s a positional element to that as well,” Southgate said.

“But we’ve got really good options and I think we’ve come through tonight without any physical issues, which was really, really important.

“Some players needed the minutes and they’ll need the minutes again on Friday. That’s why we brought on Harry Kane (who had not played for Bayern Munich since May 8), he needed some match time today and then to back that up.

“So we’re were spinning a lot of plates trying to get individuals into things, manage minutes, perform well and everything else. But I think today was a good night for us.”

England also have Denmark and Slovenia in their Euro group. AFP, REUTERS