England v Italy preview: Three Lions on cusp of Euro qualification
Having never won consecutive H2Hs since 1949, there’s further incentive for the Three Lions to gain a small measure of revenge for that recent heartbreak and book their place in Germany.
After an experimental line-up beat Australia 1-0 on Friday to make it seven games unbeaten (W6, D1), manager Gareth Southgate praised his players for coming through the “really tough challenge” against an “athletic and well-organised” team.
Another clean sheet will have pleased him, particularly as it appears to also be a habit in this competition following ten clean sheets from their last 12 ECQ home fixtures, all of which were wins!
Italy went into Saturday’s game against Malta (W 4-0) under a cloud following the withdrawals of Sandro Tonali and Nicolò Zaniolo after they were among several players to have been accused of illegal betting activity.
On the field, Luciano Spalletti’s team cruised home to keep them snapping at England’s heels (W3, D1, L1) knowing they have the security of a guaranteed play-off place should they need it.
But the Azzurri won’t want to go down that route, especially after missing out on the 2022 World Cup at that stage, and although they have lost two of their last five games on foreign soil (W2, D1), they are unbeaten in six H2Hs in England (W3, D3) since losing 2-0 here in 1977.
With that July 2021 Euro final win on penalties still fresh in the mind, a much-depleted squad could use that as inspiration to overcome the odds once again.
Players to watch: Harry Kane scored from the penalty spot the last time these two teams met and he’s the leading goalscorer in this group (five goals), with four of those strikes arriving in the first half. Italy’s Davide Frattesi (three group goals) will also pose a first-half threat as two of those three strikes came inside the opening 30 minutes.
Hot streak: England have conceded only once before half-time since last year’s World Cup (HT: W5, D2).
