England rallied late on to defeat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0 in a Euro 2024 warm-up friendly at St James' Park on Monday evening.
The Three Lions fielded a makeshift XI amid injuries, precautions and late arrivals, and Gareth Southgate's men were powerless to break down the Bosnian brick wall in the opening hour, despite having the lion's share of the ball.
However, the hosts were noticeably more direct after the half-time interval, and Cole Palmer's penalty on the 60-minute mark preceded a terrific Trent Alexander-Arnold volley and late Harry Kane strike to make the scoreline more emphatic.
England's fringe players have just one last chance to impress the manager ahead of Euro 2024, as Iceland arrive at Wembley for Friday's friendly, and Southgate's final selection must go to UEFA by midnight on the same day.
Here, Sports Mole picks out three things that Southgate learned about his squad from Monday's triumph.
Palmer, Eberechi Eze excel on Euros auditions
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With Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden not involved at St James' Park, the door swung open for Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze and Palmer to start as the supporting cast for Ollie Watkins, who was largely anonymous on the field.
Bowen also had a goal-bound shot blocked by Ezri Konsa just before Kane's strike, but Palmer and Eze - two players who more than earned their stars in the 2023-24 Premier League season - passed their Euros auditions with flying colours on their first starts for their country.
Even before firing home a vicious penalty which Bosnia goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj did manage to get a hand to, Palmer's delicate pass slipped in Watkins for the first real chance of the game, one of two chances he created for his teammates on the evening.
With dead-ball specialities and versatility on his side, Palmer has surely done enough to warrant being a part of the 26, and the same can be said of Crystal Palace's Eze, who managed to inject some life into an otherwise tepid first half.
Completing three successful dribbles, one of those mazy runs saw the Palace starlet leave three sets of Bosnian legs trailing in his wake from a central position in the first half, although Jack Grealish's fine assist for Alexander-Arnold late on makes his task a tad more complicated.
Alexander-Arnold in midfield is the real deal
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While Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold must still occupy the right-back - using that term loosely - role for club, he continued to fulfil his midfield duties for England to magnificent effect at St James' Park.
Completing 89% of his passes, Alexander-Arnold was responsible for creating five of England's chances on the night with his astounding ball-spraying skill set, pinging seven accurate long passes to his teammates.
Released from his defensive shackles, one of those stunning deliveries allowed Grealish to tee up James Maddison - who could not sort his feet out in time - just before his sublime volley at the back post flew into the far side of the net.
Declan Rice and Bellingham must of course be engine room shoo-ins in Germany, but Southgate simply must find a way to include Alexander-Arnold in the centre of the park, which spells bad news for Conor Gallagher and Kobbie Mainoo.
Ezri Konsa alleviates full-back concerns
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With Reece James stricken, Alexander-Arnold sparkling in midfield, Kyle Walker temporarily unavailable and Ben White not interested, England's right-back ranks had a particularly ravaged look about them in the North East.
Kieran Trippier was also forced to fill in on the equally decimated left flank, leaving Southgate to choose between the adaptable Joe Gomez and Konsa for the right-back slot, and the latter more than justified his manager's faith in him.
Occupying that role for the third England game in a row, Konsa was on song in an attacking sense - winning the penalty for Palmer to convert, firing three shots and also completing 95% of his passes.
The Aston Villa man may have inadvertently denied Bowen a goal right at the death, but the pair could afford to laugh when Kane followed up, and Konsa's competent display will certainly allow Southgate to breathe a little easier about his perennial full-back injury crisis.
Ben Knapton
