Kobbie Mainoo and Jarrod Bowen among four England stars who have timed their run perfectly ahead of Euro 2024, writes CRAIG HOPE… but who else joins Jack Grealish in sweating for his place?

England may have failed to win two games against top opposition at Wembley, but the real winners and losers of this international break were always going to be individuals.

This is audition season, when team-mates are rivals just as much as those in opposition. 

Is it little wonder we saw two very different team performances when players are motivated more by self-interest than that of the collective? That is not a criticism, it is a reality of international football on the eve of a major tournament.

A lifetime of training, travelling, matches, watching, listening, learning, it could all boil down to 90 minutes or less. Friendlies? The competition is fierce.

Against Belgium, it was telling that those assured of their place in Germany - the likes of Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden - were not at their very best until the closing stages when England pressed to avoid defeat. 

Those busting a gut, by comparison, were the understudies whose role in the final show is yet to be determined.

For some, it was more bust than busting, and you suspect their chance has now gone. As Southgate said: 'We needed to expose the areas that we are short in.'

Here, we take a look at those winners and losers…

WINNERS

Kobbie Mainoo

An England Under-21 player last week, a starter for the senior side this. And now, you feel, favourite to start alongside Rice this summer. 

It was his bravery that stood out against Belgium. Not in the tackle, but in possession. At 18, he could have played it safe, negotiated his full debut without risk of making a mistake. Some more experienced colleagues still play like that. 

But Mainoo, at times, was like a winger in the middle of the park - dribbling, dropping a shoulder, always looking to move the ball forward. 

His nutmeg of Amadou Onana captured the spirit of his performance - here was a boy bringing men down to size. It was not just the opposition who were reduced in stature and reputation, for Mainoo has stormed ahead of several of his seniors. 

As Southgate said: 'He gives us a profile of player we haven't got. That's hugely exciting.'

Jarrod Bowen

Steve Bruce once said he wasn't sure Bowen was good enough for the Premier League. He had signed him for Hull and had just taken over at Newcastle in 2019. Five years on and he looks good enough for a place at the European Championship. 

There was a hint of it during a late cameo against Brazil, a dribble of pace and adventure. He picked up where he left off when starting three days later, dashing down the right wing inside 30 seconds. In fact, he did not let up. 

This was Bowen's best yet for England. He played without fear and was direct, running at his opponent at every opportunity. He looks to have timed his run for Germany perfectly.

Anthony Gordon

There was less of Bowen's bravado about Gordon's debut versus Brazil, but there was discipline, energy and still the attacking intent to produce two of the team's three shots on target. 

He looked like a player who could be trusted - consistency for Newcastle has been his greatest strength - and given England's problems at left back, his willingness to run just as hard in both directions will not be lost on Southgate. 

His two sittings in front of the media were underpinned by enthusiasm and intelligence, and Southgate likes his attitude. 

The reputation that followed him from Everton to Newcastle last year is a thing of the past. Indeed, Gordon looks like a future England squad regular.

Ivan Toney

OK, he only scored a penalty, said some. But in the moments before it was taken - three minutes of standing around, ball in hand, waiting for VAR to complete its check - there was something about Toney that looked like an international player. 

There was an arrogance, a swagger, an ego that enjoyed the bright lights being on him, and him alone. He slotted his penalty home with no fuss, he always does. Don't forget how important a guaranteed scorer from 12 yards is at a tournament - Southgate certainly won't. 

But it was not just that, Toney's hold-up play and want to impact gave purpose to England's attack. He is the best alternative to Kane.

LOSERS

Conor Gallagher

He has started his last three England games but, against Brazil, it felt like he played his way out of the XI. 

Maybe his confidence is affected by his situation at Chelsea, the club who are actively trying to sell him this summer. He needs out of there, you feel. 

When he spoke to the media on Saturday night, there was no real verve or animation, and that mirrored his performance. 

He looks like someone unsure of what his role might be, falling between two stools of playing deeper alongside Rice and joining the attack with Bellingham. 

In the end, he did neither to great effect. He would have watched Mainoo star versus Belgium and wondered if his place in the squad, let alone the team, is now under threat.

Lewis Dunk

At 32, Dunk's days with England might well be done. Romelu Lukaku won't be the best striker at the Euros, but he was too good for the Brighton centre-back at Wembley. 

He was shaky in the second half against Brazil, too. 

The competition in defence isn't great, but this had the feel of a player falling down the pecking order, much like his fall when Lukaku turned him inside and out before setting up Youri Tielemans for his second goal.

Ollie Watkins

Harsh? Not if Southgate only takes two strikers to Germany. If so, Watkins probably won't be one of them. 

Unlike Toney, he does not have the same strut about him at this level. He did very well in recycling the ball for Bellingham's goal on Tuesday night, but he's in the team to score them, and during a full 90 minutes versus Brazil he offered little threat. 

An increase to a 26-man squad could yet be his saviour, but he's yet to convince as an England player.

Jack Grealish

There was little he could do sat at home after returning from injury recently, but them's the breaks ahead of a major finals. 

He would have watched Bowen and Gordon stake their claim, and it would have felt like a stake in the stomach. 

As my colleague Sami Mokbel reveals in his likely 26-man squad, there is no place for Grealish even in the expanded group.

P.S. Spare a thought for goalkeeper Sam Johnstone. It would be unfair to call him a 'loser', but he has lost out on a place at the Euros because of an elbow injury, picking up the problem during training with England on Sunday.