England became the latest nation to qualify for next summer’s European Championships in Germany, following a 3-1 home win against Italy.
The visitors had the better of the early stages and took the lead in the 15th minute. Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s low cross found Gianluca Scamacca unmarked, and he fired in from close range for his first international goal.
The former West Ham United came close to doubling his personal tally just moments later. However, his left-footed strike went narrowly wide of the near post.
The Three Lions grew back into the game and were handed a lifeline in the 28th minute. Jude Bellingham exchanged passes with Harry Kane and burst into the box before being brought down by Di Lorenzo.
As he did in the reverse fixture in March, Kane stuck his penalty away with conviction.
As the half-time whistle approached, both goalkeepers were called into action. Gianluigi Donnarumma had to palm Marcus Rashford’s effort wide, while Jordan Pickford was at his best to deny Destiny Udogie.
England came out motivated after the break and got themselves in front. Bellingham produced more brilliant work on the counter-attack before feeding Rashford. The forward cut inside and rifled a powerful low strike past Donnarumma to make it 2-1.
Gareth Southgate’s men continued in search of a third goal. Phil Foden worked some space for a shot but saw his drive well stopped by Donnarumma.
But it wasn’t long before the next goal came, and it was provided by a moment of individual brilliance. Kane got the better of Alessandro Bastoni and Giorgio Scalvini, raced through on goal and coolly slotted in at the near post.
The final few minutes were relatively comfortable for the hosts. Second-half substitute Moise Kean struck one towards goal from the edge of the box, but it was easily saved by Pickford.
The victory secured England’s place at Euro 2024, having picked up 16 points from a possible 18. Their final two games come against Malta and North Macedonia next month.
As for Italy, they sit three points behind Ukraine with a game in hand. The pair will face each other in November, with an automatic qualification place possibly at stake.
England
Jordan Pickford (7/10) – Made one vital save to deny Udogie shortly before half-time. Rarely tested otherwise, and could do nothing about the goal.
Kyle Walker (7/10) – Solid defensively and good on the ball. Kept El Shaarawy quiet.
John Stones (5/10) – Allowed Scamacca to get away from him for the opener. Found things hard against the Italian forward.
Harry Maguire (7/10) – Won most of his duels. Comfortable on the ball.
Kieran Trippier (5/10) – Didn’t offer much going forward. Sometimes struggled a bit defensively.
Declan Rice (6/10) – Sluggish in the opening stages and partially responsible for Scamacca’s goal. Imposed himself more after the break.
Kalvin Phillips (4/10) – Looked noticeably off the pace. Fortunate not to have picked up a second yellow card in the second half.
Phil Foden (7/10) – Quiet early on but grew into the game. Some lovely touches in the second half.
Jude Bellingham (9/10) *MOTM* – Sensational once again. Smooth on the ball and influential. Heavily contributed to England’s first two goals.
Marcus Rashford (7/10) – Not always involved, but showed flashes of quality. Scored a brilliant goal.
Harry Kane (9/10) – A familiar well-rounded display. Held the ball up well, played some beautiful passes, gave the Italian defenders a hard time, and grabbed two goals.
Substitutes
Marc Guehi (7/10)
Jordan Henderson (6/10)
Jack Grealish (6/10)
Italy
Gianluigi Donnarumma (7/10) – Can’t be blamed for any of the goals. Made a couple of impressive stops, and looked good with his feet.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo (6/10) – Started the game really strong and grabbed an assist. Conceded a penalty and generally looked shaky defensively.
Giorgio Scalvini (4/10) – Rash challenges in the lead up to England’s second and third goals. Couldn’t cope with Kane.
Franco Acerbi (5/10) – Often struggled to deal with the threat of Kane. Substituted in the second half.
Destiny Udogie (7/10) – Showed plenty of attacking threat and was unlucky not to score. Sometimes struggled defensively against Foden.
Bryan Cristante (5/10) – Didn’t offer enough at either end of the pitch.
Davide Frattesi (6/10) – Had plenty of bright moments in the first half. Struggled afterwards.
Nicolo Barella (5/10) – Controlled things early on but faded. Overran in the second half.
Domenico Berardi (6/10) – Showed some promise in the first half. Quiet after the break.
Gianluca Scamacca (8/10) – Caused all sorts of problems for England’s backline. Opened the scoring.
Stephan El Shaarawy (5/10) – Unable to make much of an impact against Walker.
Substitutes
Federico Dimarco (5/10)
Moise Kean (5/10)
Alessandro Bastoni (4/10)
Giacomo Raspadori (5/10)
Ricardo Orsolini (5/10)
