England vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina prediction, odds, betting tips and best bets for international friendly | Sporting News

England begin their Euro 2024 preparations with a friendly against 74th-ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday at the home of Newcastle United, St. James’ Park.

The Three Lions will be missing Champions League final participant Jude Bellingham, but the rest of the squad will be on hand to begin their run-up to this summer’s major competition.

England have never won the Euros, but having made the World Cup semifinals two years ago, they come into this year’s tournament as the betting favourites, ahead of even World Cup finalists France and hosts Germany.

Bosnia and Herzegovina fell short of Euro qualification in the semifinals of the playoff round, knocked out by Ukraine 2-1 in a heartbreaking comeback which saw Ukraine score twice in the final five minutes of the match to advance. Since reaching their only FIFA World Cup in 2014, Bosnia and Herzegovina have not qualified for a major tournament, falling back down the European pecking order.

The Dragons are under new management as Sergej Barbarez takes charge of the national team for the first time in his career. It’s his first career managerial position — Barbarez was tabbed to be the Bosnia and Herzegovina head coach way back in 2009, but his appointment was blocked in favour of Safet Susic who stayed in the position for five years.

England vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina prediction, odds

• Moneyline lean: England (-650)
• Pick: England to win to nil (-145)
• Score prediction: England 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina

There’s little value in the moneyline, but it’s hard to imagine that Bosnia and Herzegovina can get a result here with a new coach in charge hoping to stop a 10-match slide that features eight defeats to such sides as Iceland, Luxembourg twice, and Slovakia twice.

It’ll be trial by fire for Sergej Barbarez in his new role, as his first five fixtures in charge include a brutal pair of friendlies against England and Italy followed by a Nations League group stage gauntlet that features the Netherlands and Germany.

England have loads of talent, even if Jude Bellingham isn’t on board and Harry Kane could be rested while nursing a back injury. They won’t disappoint here and will keep a clean sheet as well as Portugal and Iceland did against Bosnia and Herzegovina back in the fall plus Luxembourg and Slovakia in the months prior to that.

England vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina match facts

• Date: Monday, June 3, 2024
• Kickoff Time: 7:45 p.m. local (2:45 p.m. ET / 11:45 a.m. PT)
• Location: St. James’ Park (Newcastle, England)
• Last meeting: None (First meeting)

England vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina best bet

• Pick: Under 3.0 total goals
• Odds: +100 (DraftKings)

England have a glutton of attacking options in the squad, which has inflated this goals total, but under Gareth Southgate, they’ve been quite defensive, which is surprisingly common for international football. Simply harken back to the 2018 FIFA World Cup where France boss Didier Deschamps received significant criticism for how conservative his Bleus side played despite a wealth of attacking talent, all the way up until they won the whole dang thing.

Southgate has looked to continue carrying that mantle — back in November, they beat lowly Malta by just a 2-0 score, while drawing 1-1 with North Macedonia days later. A few months before that they drew 1-1 with Ukraine, a team which plays similar to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Matches against more attacking sides like Belgium and Italy can sometimes end up above the total, but here, expect them to seek a goal or two and shut it down without risking their most important players down the stretch of a friendly.

England vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina prop bet

• Pick: Cole Palmer anytime goal scorer
• Odds: +130 (BetMGM)

With Harry Kane struggling with a back injury and almost certainly rested by Gareth Southgate, it will likely be Ollie Watkins to take over at the top of the England attack. Watkins is obviously a solid threat to score, but his -135 odds to find the net are less than palatable.

Instead, we look at the incredible 13 assists Watkins provided during the Premier League season with Aston Villa on 7.75 xA, which is a prolific creative mark for a player at the head of an attack. If Cole Palmer is given an opportunity to show what he can provide ahead of the Euros, there’s a very likely chance he can find the net, whether directly from Watkins or via another source such as Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Phil Foden, or Eberechi Eze.

Palmer was sensational all year long with Chelsea in front of goal and is looking to earn a bigger role within this England squad, so expect him to look for a moment to strike. Add in that without Kane, someone else will need to be on England penalty duties, and who better than Palmer to be handed that role after logging a perfect nine-for-nine showing this past season, and has never missed from the spot in his professional career.

England vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina live stream, TV channel

This England vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina international friendly will be televised in the United States on Fox Sports 2. That channel is available to stream on Fubo, who are offering a free trial for new users.

It can also be streamed on FOX’s dedicated platform Fox Sports GO, while a Spanish-language broadcast can be found streaming on ViX.

Domestically in the UK, this match will be broadcast and streamed by Channel 4, while in Canada it can be found streaming on DAZN.