England are embarking on their final preparations for this summer’s Euro 2024 by taking on Bosnia and Herzegovina before a clash against Iceland four days later. It’ll no doubt be a chance for some of the new faces in Gareth Southgate’s 33-man provisional squad to impress, especially given regulars like Jude Bellingham (Champions League final participation), Harry Maguire (injury) and Luke Shaw (injury) won’t feature in this most recent fixture.
With plenty of changes expected to the starting XI, it’s possible we may see England struggle to end what’s been a poor defensive run by their lofty standards, as the Three Lions have managed to keep just one clean sheet across their past five matches. They have also failed to win any of their past three games (D2, L1), which is the longest winless run for Southgate’s side since a streak of six back in September 2022.
Despite that, the hosts come into this game as heavy favourites and understandably so. Bosnia are ranked 74th in FIFA’s world rankings at present and head to Newcastle having lost each of their last four matches, conceding 2+ goals in each of those defeats. That includes a 2-1 defeat to Ukraine last time out which cost them a place at this summer’s big tournament in Germany.
Since then, the nation’s FA enforced a change and appointed Sergej Barbarez as manager in April with the hope that he can inspire some much-needed improvement. Starting with a win here would certainly be some platform to do that, although Bosnia’s poor record of one win from their last ten trips highlights further why that looks an unlikely outcome (D3, L6).
Players to watch: Having registered a remarkable 33 Premier League goal involvements for Chelsea this season, Cole Palmer could have a big say in this game and this summer’s tournament for England. Bosnia captain Edin Džeko might fancy his chances of making his mark having netted at St James’ Park twice already in his career when a Manchester City player.
Hot stat: Just two of England’s last seven ‘home’ international matches have seen both teams score.
