Two England players made a great impact with the limited minutes they were handed in their third group game at Euro 2024.
Despite the 0-0 draw, arguably the two best performing players were Kobbie Mainoo and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer despite neither of them starting.
It had been the story of the England camp that the player who combined for 40 goals and assists in all competitions last season had not been given a chance to make an impact on what has been a very uninspiring national team so far.
A number of pundits have called for his presence to become a more common feature going forwards in the tournament after his very impressive major tournament debut.
His bromance with Mainoo has been clear to see, and the pair have unfortunately spent a lot of time together on the bench so far.
Palmer and Mainoo on loud England fans
The Chelsea man told England’s Diary Room that the duo had noticed just how loud England fans had been for the game they came on in.
He said: “Yeah I remember Kobbie saying to me on the bench, we were chatting and it was just mad loud. Last night was the loudest the England fans have been.”
It remains to be seen if Gareth Southgate gives either player more minutes when it becomes do or die in the knockout stages of Euro 2024 from this stage onwards.
Gallagher struggles for England
One player who may struggle to see the pitch again is Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher, who was given his first start at a major tournament in the last game.
However, playing in a midfield two alongside Declan Rice never looked as if it was going to get the best out of him, and this is exactly what happened.
The fact that there is not a fit left-back in site at the moment is likely leaving Ben Chilwell cursing his luck that he wasn’t even selected for a role in the team.