England manager Gareth Southgate says he is “extremely busy” as the deadline to confirm his Euro 2024 squad approaches.
England play Iceland in their final pre-tournament friendly at Wembley Stadium on Friday (7.45pm BST) before Southgate names the 26-man squad for Germany.
Speaking about upcoming selections after Monday’s 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said: “We understand the importance to all our players and we are giving it the respect and care it deserves to make a fair and correct decision.”
“Of course, it’s always going to be subjective.
“It’s not just about acquiring talented people, but also about positional factors.
“We have really good options and I think we got through tonight without any physical issues, which is really important.”
The England manager continued: “Some guys needed games, they needed minutes, they needed minutes on Friday, that’s why I brought Harry Kane on. He needed game time today and we needed to make up for that.”
“We’re just trying to motivate our guys, manage their minutes, perform well and all that stuff, but I thought it was a good night for us.”
Second-half goals from Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and substitute Kane sealed a routine victory at St James’ Park in the penultimate warm-up match before Euro 2024.
At Euro 2024, England are in Group C with Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia, with their first opponents being played in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday 16 June.
“The depth of our team is the best I’ve ever seen.”
Chelsea’s Palmer and Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze started for an inexperienced England side but were substituted after the hour against Newcastle.
“Cole did a great job controlling the game for us,” Southgate told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I thought he was a little bit too accurate with his finish and if he’d got it in a little bit earlier the shot might have missed, but it was great to see him score his first goal. [England] goal.
“Eze played with the freedom and swagger he has at club level and it’s great to see young players coming into our environment and playing like that.”
“We also saw his power and ability to slip through opponents in the centre of the pitch.”
Meanwhile, Adam Wharton made a promising debut off the bench, with Southgate saying of the Palace midfielder: “He played exactly as he’s trained, he receives the ball well, he’s calm, he plays up front, which sounds easy but it’s not that easy.”
“He’s good at one-touch football and when the ball comes to him he visualizes it straight away. He had a really good few days with us.”
Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman, who works as a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “So they [Eze and Wharton] They joined the team because they contributed to the club.
“Eze is unique. He glides with the ball and can beat four players at once. There aren’t many players who can do that. He’s the type of player you need to open the door.”
“Wharton played with great confidence in key areas of the pitch.”
Former England centre-back Jonathan Woodgate added: “It might depend on the Iceland game.” [for the final team selection].
“Gareth has some very tough decisions to make about who to use. They’re all good players. The depth of our squad is the best I’ve ever seen.”
“We know the qualities Grealish has.”
Another England player who made an impressive cameo off the bench was Manchester City winger Jack Grealish, who provided the assist for Alexander-Arnold’s second goal with a lobbed cross and also contributed to Kane’s third goal from close range.
Grealish has had a reduced role with Premier League champions City for the 2023-24 season, starting just 10 league games and not featuring in the team’s FA Cup final defeat to neighbours Manchester United on May 25.
Competition for places in England’s attacking midfield is extremely stiff but Southgate said after Monday’s win: “I know his quality, there’s no doubt about that. He’s a player I’m happy to have in the squad.”
Several contributors to BBC Sport’s live text coverage suggested the 28-year-old should be selected for England’s Euro 2024 squad.
Stuart Beale Collins: Grealish’s pass was amazing. It was sensational. We take him for granted. We need to get on a plane.
AC Task: Jack Grealish has been in the team all day.
Steve: A fantastic cameo from Jack Grealish, bursting with quality, it would be madness to leave him out of the European squad.
