England player ratings vs Bosnia: Excellent 8/10 shines but two 5/10s struggle

England kicked their Euro 2024 preparations into gear with a convincing 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday evening.

Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Kane were on target for the Three Lions, who were effective in eventually finding the net without getting St James’ Park off their feet. Eberechi Eze was among the standout players in his first senior start, while Jarrad Branthwaite and Adam Wharton were handed debut caps off the bench.

England enjoyed a huge share of possession in the first-half but were starved of space by a disciplined Bosnian outfit. Cole Palmer did manage to find a pocket early doors, however, before slipping a lovely ball through for Ollie Watkins whose effort from a tight angle was saved.

There was little to get St James’ Park excited until the half-hour mark, with Eberechi Eze the instigator of some magic in midfield to unnerve Bosnian defenders and win a corner. That set-piece saw Ezri Konsa come close to prodding in an opener, but for goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj’s outstretched foot.

Jarrod Bowen rounded off a quiet half with an effort straight at Vasilj but England did little to excite the 50,000-plus inside the ground and went into the break goalless. England came out with a tad more urgency in the second-half and Palmer had the best chance 10 minutes in, but took a touch too many after finding space in the box before his effort was blocked.

England did have their chance to open the scoring just before the hour mark when a VAR check adjudged Ezri Konsa to have had his shirt pulled inside the penalty area. And it was Palmer who, after nine successful penalties for Chelsea, scored his first international goal from the spot to make it 1-0.

Pre-planned changes were made shortly after as England continued to dominate possession, with chances mostly coming from the many set-pieces but nothing of note. That was until the 86th-minute when Trent Alexander-Arnold was brilliantly picked out by Jack Grealish before arrowing a volley into the bottom corner.

Substitute Harry Kane then made it three in the dying minutes, finally squeezing the ball in after Bowen saw his effort inadvertently cleared off the line by Konsa. The 3-0 scoreline arguably flattered England but they were dominant throughout and now welcome Iceland to Wembley on Friday. Below are your player ratings.