England booked their place at Euro 2024 with a 3-1 comeback victory over Italy at Wembley on Tuesday evening.
Gareth Southgate’s side only needed a draw to qualify but there was no guarantee a point was coming when Gianluca Scamacca fired Italy ahead early on, but the Three Lions responded well and Harry Kane’s penalty – his 60th goal for England – kick-started an impressive comeback.
Marcus Rashford put England ahead early in the second half before Kane bagged his second of the game to remove any doubt about the result.
How the game unfolded
Rashford sent a free-kick fizzing over the bar after a quick start from England, but it was Italy who took the lead 15 minutes in as former West Ham United striker Scamacca poked home his first goal for his country from close range.
England’s response was lively, albeit largely uninspiring, but Jude Bellingham took it upon himself to inject some quality into the game on the half-hour mark as he drove into the box and drew a foul from Giovanni Di Lorenzo. Up stepped Kane, who made no mistake from 12 yards.
Both goalkeepers were active late in the half. Gianluigi Donnarumma got down well to deny Rashford, before Jordan Pickford’s stop from Destiny Udogie brought the first 45 minutes to a close.
England kept the energy up after the break and Kalvin Phillips sent a strike flying over the bar, but Rashford showed more composure as he restored his side’s lead ten minutes after the restart.
Bellingham’s smart touch saw him beat Italy’s midfield and a delightful dummy run from the Real Madrid sensation gave Rashford the space he needed to crash the ball into the bottom corner.
A notable chorus of cheers met Jordan Henderson as he entered the game for the final 20 minutes, and the Al Ettifaq midfielder was part of the celebrations soon after as England netted their third.
Kane bullied Alessandro Bastoni and went charging through at Donnarumma, firing beyond the Italian stopper to seal England’s place at Euro 2024.
GK: Jordan Pickford – 6/10 – Made a smart save to deny Udogie late in the first half. Not particularly busy but did his job.
RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10 – Perhaps should have done better with Scamacca’s opener but was energetic in his battle with El Shaarawy.
CB: John Stones – 5/10 – Failed to follow Scamacca’s run for the first goal. Left Maguire on an island.
CB: Harry Maguire – 6/10 – Did a good job of hoovering up loose balls and played some nice passes as England tried to make their possession count.
LB: Kieran Trippier – 6/10 – Italy clearly targeted his side early on and exploited his uncertainty on the left, but Trippier soon calmed himself down.
DM: Declan Rice – 6/10 – Sloppy in possession in the first half and also didn’t cover himself in glory for Italy’s opener. Regained his composure in the second and helped keep things ticking.
DM: Kalvin Phillips – 4/10 – Looked exactly like a player who barely plays any first-team football. Phillips was slow and struggled to keep up with Italy at times, including for the first goal. Nearly got himself sent off as well.
RM: Phil Foden – 6/10 – Largely uninspiring in the first half but proved far more energetic after the break. Had a few nice moves towards goal.
AM: Jude Bellingham – 8/10 – The spark plug in England’s midfield. Bellingham took on a leadership role on the pitch, both with his excellent play and verbal encouragement of his teammates. Showed real intelligence to inspire Rashford’s goal.
LM: Marcus Rashford – 6/10 – A much-improved second half which yielded an impressive finish from the Manchester United winger.
ST: Harry Kane – 8/10 – Took both his goals well as part of an impressive showing. Kane dropped deep to link things up with real class and looks to be developing a great rapport with Bellingham.
Substitutes
SUB: Marc Guehi (62′ for Stones) – 6/10
SUB: Jordan Henderson (69′ for Phillips) – 6/10
SUB: Jack Grealish (85′ for Bellingham) – N/A
Subs not used: Sam Johnstone (GK), Aaron Ramsdale (GK), Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lewis Dunk, Levi Colwill, James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen
Manager
Gareth Southgate – 7/10 – Will face deserved questions about his team selection, but whatever he said to his team at half-time deserves plenty of credit as England roared to victory in the second half.
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma – 5/10 – Had a few nervy moments with the ball at his feet and found himself picking the ball out the back of the net a little too often.
RB: Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 6/10 – Got the assist for Scamacca’s opener before fouling Bellingham for the penalty. An eventful outing.
CB: Giorgio Scalvini – 6/10 – A solid showing in the first half but flashed a little inexperience after the break when England started to run away with things.
CB: Francesco Acerbi – 5/10 – His limited agility proved problematic for Italy as Acerbi was occasionally dragged out of position by Kane.
LB: Destiny Udogie – 6/10 – A lively menace at both ends of the field, but could have easily conceded a penalty and was perhaps a little fortunate not to pick up several yellow cards.
DM: Bryan Cristante – 5/10 – Lethargic and uninvolved. Kept misplacing his passes and failed to keep up with England as they tried to fizz forwards.
CM: Nicolo Barella – 5/10 – Had the odd nice moment but wasn’t particularly involved as Italy fell short in the midfield battle.
CM: Davide Frattesi – 5/10 – Not nearly solid enough in possession. Gave away a lot of sloppy passes when Italy needed far more composure out of him.
RW: Domenico Berardi – 6/10 – Had some very nice moments as he tormented Trippier early on, but couldn’t maintain that level throughout.
ST: Gianluca Scamacca – 6/10 – Great striker’s instinct to position himself for the opening goal, but was otherwise a little quiet before his withdrawal.
LW: Stephan El Shaarawy – 5/10 – Didn’t get much change out of Walker on what was clearly a frustrating outing from El Shaarawy.
Substitutes
SUB: Alessandro Bastoni (63′ for Acerbi) – 4/10
SUB: Federico Dimarco (63′ for Udogie) – 5/10
SUB: Moise Kean (63′ for Scamacca) – 5/10
SUB: Giacomo Raspadori (78′ for Berardi) – 5/10
SUB: Riccardo Orsolini (87′ for El Shaarawy) – N/A
Subs not used: Guglielmo Vicario (GK), Alex Meret (GK), Matteo Darmian, Gianluca Mancini, Federico Gatti, Manuel Locatelli, Giacomo Bonaventura
Manager
Luciano Spalletti – 5/10 – Guilty of a few confusing selections as well and failed to make an impact with his substitutions.
Player of the match: Jude Bellingham (England)
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
90 Mins
