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Trent Alexander-Arnold was on target in England’s win (Mike Egerton/PA)

Trent Alexander-Arnold scores volley but Gareth Southgate overlooks Liverpool duo

Trent Alexander-Arnold enhanced his England prospects with a goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Gareth Southgate overlooked two Liverpool players.

With four Reds called up to Southgate’s provisional squad for the Euros, Alexander-Arnold was the only one to start in the first of two warmup friendlies.

The 25-year-old joined Conor Gallagher in a two-man midfield as England set up with a 4-2-3-1 shape, which tested his positioning and, at least early on, limited his influence.

Alexander-Arnold grew into the clash along with his team-mates, with Cole Palmer opening the scoring on the hour after a tough first half.

Southgate began shuffling his pack soon after and Joe Gomez came off the bench with 17 minutes to play, while Alexander-Arnold was shifted to right-back for the closing stages.

That saw him make it 2-0 with a brilliant volley in the 85th minute, peeling off his marker to meet Jack Grealish’s cross and send a perfect strike into the bottom corner.

Harry Kane then sealed the 3-0 victory late on after Ezri Konsa blocked Jarrod Bowen’s goalbound effort from crossing the line.

Despite being named on the bench, neither Jarell Quansah or Curtis Jones made it onto the pitch, with Declan Rice and Ivan Toney the only other outfielders unused.

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - Thursday, October 12, 2023: England's Jarell Quansah during the pre-match warm-up before the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group F game between England and Serbia at the City Ground. England won 9-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

They will be hoping to feature against Iceland on Friday, but Southgate is likely to favour a more full-strength side for that final warmup clash.

Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton and Jarrad Branthwaite all boosted their chances of making the final squad for the tournament in Germany.

And it was a strong case presented by Alexander-Arnold, with no player creating more chances (five), recording more touches (121), completing more passes (90 of 101) or making more passes into the final third (14), per FotMob.

Elsewhere on Monday night, Andy Robertson started in Scotland’s laboured 2-0 win over to Gibraltar, but Ben Doak was not able to join the squad.

Manager Steve Clarke revealed after the game that Doak, who has not played at any level since knee surgery in December, was left out as a precaution after feeling the effects of training.