England vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Preview & Prediction | 2024 International Friendly
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In the first of two UEFA EURO 2024 warm-up matches for the Three Lions, England travel to the north east to welcome Bosnia-Herzegovina to St James’ Park as Gareth Southgate attempts to fine tune his squad.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Monday 3rd June, 2024 – UK – 19:45 / US EST – 14:45 / US PST – 12:45
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: This match will be televised live on Channel 4 in the UK. / This match will not be televised live in the US.
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: This match can be streamed live via the Channel 4 app in the UK. / This match will not be streamed live in the US.
ENGLAND PREVIEW: PREPARATION IS KEY
Regardless of the result of this summer, there is a real chance this is Gareth Southgate’s last tournament in charge of England and, for all of the naysayers mainly on social media, he has done an excellent job – but now really is the time for England to get serious. They head to Germany with a star studded squad and genuine experience that should serve them very well.
The UEFA EURO 2020 runners’ up do come into this one on the back of typically drab and underwhelming friendly performances and results during the March international break. Firstly being beaten at Wembley by what is a below par Brazilian generation by a goal to nil and then needing a last gasp Jude Bellingham equaliser against a below par Belgian side, too.
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA PREVIEW: THE LATEST REBUILD
Bosnia-Herzegovina reached the 2014 FIFA World Cup with their so-called ‘golden generation’ but that generation has either faded away or, simply, become too old to be meaningfully competitive – as shown by the fact that their captain is the same man as it was ten years ago in former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko.
The convoluted UEFA Nations League playoffs system allowed them a chance at qualification in the playoffs in March and they very nearly sprung a surprise in the semi-finals in Sarajevo. Leading a strong Ukrainian team by a goal to nil with just five of the 90 minutes left, they conceded goals to Roman Yaremchuk and Artem Dovbyk to miss out on a trip to Germany this summer.
ENGLAND TEAM NEWS: EXPERIMENTAL ENGLAND
Gareth Southgate likes to have quite a settled squad pretty much at all times but there will be room for experimentation in Newcastle on Monday. Jude Bellingham is expected to absent after appearing for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final, whilst Luke Shaw is still expected to be rehabilitating. With a game against Iceland to come where he will name a full strength team, this one could see quite a lot of rotation.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier; Wharton, Rice; Foden, Palmer, Gordon; Watkins
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE: Maguire (Injured), Shaw (Injured), Saka (Injured)
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA TEAM NEWS: FULL STRENGTH BOSNIANS
As mentioned, Bosnia-Herzegovina boss Sergej Barbarez is perhaps hamstrung by a lack of players coming through the ranks with Edin Dzeko still leading the line as captain. There is an expectation that he will name a full strength eleven for this one, though, even with a marquee fixture against Italy in Italy coming up next weekend, too.
PREDICTED XI (3-4-1-2): Vasilj; Ahmedhodzic, Hadzikadunic, Bicakcic; Omerovic, Krunic, Loncar, Gazibegovic; Hajradinovic; Dzeko, Demirovic
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
ENGLAND VS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA PREDICTION
Predicting friendly results is always a tricky business as they can tend to throw up some unexpected outcomes but, frankly, even this one is a bit of a mis-match. A heavily rotated and potentially lacking in focus England side will still be expected to comfortably defeat Bosnia-Herzegovina, albeit perhaps in more trademark Gareth Southgate’s England-style with a low-scoring but defensively assured performances.
ENGLAND VS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA TIP: ENGLAND TO WIN & UNDER 3.5 GOALS
