England put in a solid second-half display to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 at St James’ Park.
Cole Palmer swept home from the penalty spot to give England the lead after VAR asked the referee to go to the monitor. Ezri Konsa earned the penalty as he was held back by Benjamin Tahirovic, who was pulling with both hands on his shirt. It looked like a penalty in real time and was even more concrete after seeing it on the replay system.
Trent Alexander-Arnold then doubled the lead with a neat finish driven across the goalkeeper into the far corner. Jack Grealish picked him out superbly with a chipped ball across the box and the Liverpool man hit it sweetly into the back of the net with a well-timed finish.
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England vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina final score
| Ft | Goalscorers | |
| England | 3 | Palmer 60′, Alexander-Arnold 85′, Kane 89′ |
| Bosnia | 0 |
Starting lineups:
England XI (4-3-3, right to left): Pickford (GK) — Konsa, Dunk, Guehi, Trippier — Alexander-Arnold, Gallagher, Bowen — Palmer, Watkins, Eze.
Bosnia & Herzegovina XI (3-4-1-2 right to left): Vasilj (GK) — Ahmedhodzic, Bicakcic, Katic — Gazibegovic, Saric, Tahirovic, Radeljic — Hajradinovic — Demirovic, Gigovic.
Harry Kane then found himself on the scoresheet as he poked home Jarrod Bowen’s strike that was stopped on the six-yard line inadvertently by Konsa. It was his 63rd goal in 90 appearances for his country and came shortly after coming on from the bench.
In true England first-half friendly fashion, the two sides entered the interval goalless. Apart from Eberechi Eze, no player looked too bothered about proving their worth in front of Gareth Southgate.
There was very little to get excited about and Bosnia and Herzegovina looked comfortable dealing with the few attacks the Three Lions launched.
It was tedious to watch and at times the midfield was non-existent. That may have been because Kobbie Mainoo, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham all were unavailable and certainly bring more to the table when they start, but it’s a worry if Southgate was considering altering that midfield three in any way.
Ollie Watkins is another like Eze who is trying to make sure his boarding pass to Germany is printed but he failed to take advantage of a rare good opportunity in the first 45 as he hit the ball right at Nikola Vasilj.
For Southgate, it’s another win against unconvincing opposition but they’ll need to up their performance levels at the tournament, there’s no doubt about that. They next face Iceland on Friday in the final friendly before the group stages get underway next week.
England vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina lineups, team news
Southgate gave some of his fringe players a chance to impress ahead of naming his final Euros squad in the coming days. Jude Bellingham will not feature before the tournament due to his extended season at Real Madrid, including starring in the UEFA Champions League final.
Manchester United pair Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire were not be risked but captain Harry Kane recovered from a back injury and started on the bench. Bukayo Saka was rested.
England XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Pickford (GK) — Konsa, Dunk, Guehi, Trippier — Alexander-Arnold, Gallagher, Bowen — Palmer, Watkins, Eze.
Bosnia lost out to Ukraine in the Euro 2024 playoffs and they follow this game up with a friendly clash against Italy on June 9. Captain Edin Dzeko is still the standout name in the squad, with over 130 international caps to his name.
Bosnia & Herzegovina predicted XI (3-5-2 right to left): Vasilj (GK) — Ahmedhodzic, Bicakcic, Katic — Gazibegovic, Saric, Tahirovic, Radeljic — Hajradinovic — Demirovic, Gigovic.
England vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this international friendly match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | Fox Sports 2 | Fubo, Fox Sports App/website, ViX |
| Canada | — |
DAZN |
| UK | Channel 4 | Channel 4 website |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| India | — | — |