A much improved second half performance gave England a 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in their first Euro 2024 warm-up match at St James' Park.
England's line-up, which will look very different from the one that will play against Serbia in the Euro 2024 opener 13 days later, struggled against new Bosnian coach Sergei Barbarez's defensive line-up before half-time.
Eberechi Eze and Cole Palmer had been among the few prospects for Gareth Southgate up to that point, but the Three Lions re-emerged from the dressing room with renewed vigor and eventually put their opponents to the sword.
Palmer scored England's first ever goal on the hour mark after VAR confirmed Ezri Konsa's shirt had been pulled, and Trent Alexander-Arnold added a sublime second with a cushioned volley into the far corner.
Harry Kane, who came on shortly after Palmer's opener, added a third of the second half with a typical poacher's finish, and to celebrate his 90th England cap, he slotted home from a corner to give the home side the margin of victory and add some flair to their performance. .
How England developed to dismantle a defensive Bosnia
Southgate's line-up was experimental four days before selecting his final 26 to head to Germany, but the England manager's pre-match message was clear. Show us we can play our way.
England decided to play down to third from the start but struggled to successfully thwart the home side against Bosnia's five-man backline.
England's best moment of the first half came from Palmer. Palmer deflected with his first touch and fed Watkins with his second into the box, where the forward was stopped by Nicolas Vasily at the near post.
The lack of intensity usually seen in pre-tournament friendlies was evident when Marc Guehi presented Bosnia's best chance with a poor pass to Haris Hajradinovic, which saw the Kasimpasa forward deflect 20 yards behind.
England were sorely lacking in tempo, but Southgate maintained faith that his starting line-up could provide tempo after half-time and resisted the prospect of making a change at the break.
Cole Palmer's penalty was his first goal for England.
He was rewarded with almost one-way traffic from his side in the second 45 minutes, allowing Watkins to score immediately when he crossed over for a corner.
Palmer saw his shot blocked by another passing move before he had the perfect opportunity to score his England debut goal after VAR spotted Konsa's shirt being pulled down in a corner. And he continued his excellent form from the spot by beating Vasily from 12 yards.
Kane was soon introduced along with other experienced England players, and twice came behind the regular England captain before England's second captain, Alexander-Arnold, was dismissed.
The Liverpool man started in central midfield before moving to right-back and bursting to the back post to block Jack Grealish's cross with a superb volley across goal from a tight angle.
That cushion was a fair reflection of England's progress, but Kane's late three-pointer showed the menacing potential in attack.
Jarrod Bowen was denied a first international goal when his effort from a short corner was blocked by Konsa, but Kane made no mistake as he slotted home the loose ball to score his 63rd strike for England.
Harry Kane and Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrate England's win
England's evening fixture left few questions answered overall, but the performances of Eze and Palmer did little to dash their hopes of qualifying for Germany. He gets one last chance to impress against Iceland at Wembley on Friday.
Southgate: We had to be patient.
uk manager Gareth Southgate speaking channel 4:
“The tempo of the game was good because we had a persistent and determined opponent. It was good training. We had to be patient. In the end, the scoreline reflected the performance.
“Breaking down resistance builds confidence and we started as a team with not many players on the field – there was always a chance of a tight start.
“(Palmer and Eds) were both very good. They played freely. Eds has lovely movement and the power to get past people. I'm happy. I thought Cole was trying to be too precise to get a touch before the shot. .If he had shot earlier he could have scored a few goals himself.
“Our plan was 30 minutes today (for Kane) and he will start on Friday. He has been training all week. He looks fit.
“The past few days have been going well without any major problems. That’s important. We need to win this game and the final well to be able to paint a clearer picture. The players undergoing rehabilitation are growing well.”
About the difficulty of choosing: “A little. That’s a good thing. I’d rather have a good game that makes me think than a sluggish game. There were a lot of things I was personally satisfied with.”
Key dates in England
Always BST
Friday, June 7th – International Friendly, England v Iceland, Wembley, 7.45pm kick-off.
Friday, June 7th – Final 26-man squad submitted to UEFA
Saturday, June 8 – Announcement of final 26-member squad
Monday, June 10th – England national team flies to Germany
Saturday, June 16th – Serbia v England, Gelsenkirchen, 8pm kick-off
Thursday, June 20th – Denmark v England, Frankfurt, 5pm kick-off
Tuesday, June 25th – England v Slovenia, 8pm kick-off
