Reuniting under the Wembley arch two years on from a gripping continental final, England and Italy do battle in a pivotal Euro 2024 qualifier in Group C on Tuesday evening.

Gareth Southgate's men are potentially just 90 minutes away from punching their ticket to Germany, although their three-point lead over the Azzurri is far from unassailable.

Match preview

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With one eye on the impending visit of the European champions, England head coach Southgate promised to keep some of his more established internationals in bubble wrap on Friday night, as a host of fringe players took to the field to test their mettle against Australia.

However, the Wembley atmosphere was noticeably flat as a toothless Three Lions struggled to penetrate the Socceroos backline - while having to survive a scare or two themselves - but with 12 minutes gone in the second half, Ollie Watkins stuck out a leg to clinch the win at the back stick.

As is the case with any underwhelming England display, debate raged over Southgate's choice of personnel and tactics against Graham Arnold's side, but a triumph is a triumph for the Three Lions, who now don their competitive caps with the chance to seal Euro 2024 qualification with two games to spare.

Ukraine may have broken England's 100% record on matchday five in Group C, but with 13 points next to their name, the hosts need only defeat Italy on Tuesday to ensure a top-two finish, and even a draw would suffice if Ukraine - who have played a game more - are unable to beat resident minnows Malta.

Even if Southgate's men cannot complete the job in midweek, they will have another two bites at the cherry in showdowns with Malta and North Macedonia next month, and the Three Lions are on a magnificent 12-game winning streak in Euros qualifiers at home, keeping clean sheets in 10 of those contests.

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Aiming to put paid to that phenomenal record, Italy - who also have a game in hand on all the sides below them owing to their unsuccessful exploits in the Nations League Finals last year - refused to let an alarming illegal betting scandal derail their chances of a straightforward win over the Maltese on Saturday.

Becoming the oldest player to ever score his first Azzurri goal in some style, 34-year-old Giacomo Bonaventura curled home a wonderful opener before Domenico Berardi got in on the act with two sweetly-struck efforts of his own, and as the clock was winding down, there was enough time for Davide Frattesi to prolong his golden streak in Italy colours to cap off a routine 4-0 victory.

Nothing less than a multiple-goal thumping would have been acceptable for the Azzurri in Bari, as Luciano Spalletti's team dropped points in the section last month - being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Macedonia - but Saturday's success has the champions sitting pretty in second place again.

Italy and fellow 10-pointers Ukraine are only separated by head-to-head results, though, and nothing can be decided regarding the Azzurri's top-two chances before the end of the month, although they will have their Nations League ranking to fall back on should they be demoted below the silver medal position.

However, the Azzurri faithful have few fond memories of their side's most recent playoff exploits in World Cup qualifying - which ended in North Macedonia-inflicted heartbreak - and England avenged their Euros final heartbreak with a 2-1 win in Naples seven months ago, but not since 2006 have Italy lost a continental qualifier away from home.

Team News

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Barring hamstring victim Bukayo Saka - who left St George's Park not long after his arrival - England boss Southgate has a full complement of players to work with and will no doubt make changes in abundance from Friday's uninspiring success.

The England head coach lashed out at boos towards captain Jordan Henderson on the evening, and the Al-Ettifaq man will be one of several players to drop down to the bench in order to allow Declan Rice to come back in, but Trent Alexander-Arnold could very well continue in a midfield role over Manchester City outcast Kalvin Phillips.

Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Jordan Pickford and Kyle Walker will also return to the XI, while a fit-again John Stones was able to come off the bench against the Socceroos and is primed to partner Harry Maguire, in spite of the latter's prolonged absence from the Manchester United starting lineup.

Prior to the four-goal drubbing of Malta, Premier League duo Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo were both caught up in the recent gambling allegations and withdrew from the Italy camp; Juventus' Nicolo Fagioli is also under investigation but was not called up anyway.

In addition, Fagioli's clubmate Federico Chiesa joined Ivan Provedel and Mattia Zaccagni on the injury withdrawals' list with a muscular problem, so Sassuolo stalwart Berardi ought to strut his stuff on the right-wing once more following his magnificent Malta display.

Bonaventura's history-making strike may not be enough to keep fellow goalscorer Frattesi at bay, though, while Napoli skipper Giovanni Di Lorenzo should return at right-back, forcing Matteo Darmian out of the XI in the process.

England possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Trippier; Alexander-Arnold, Rice; Foden, Bellingham, Rashford; Kane

Italy possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Dimarco; Frattesi, Locatelli, Barella; Berardi, Raspadori, Kean

We say: England 1-0 Italy

An injury-hit Italy attack may have enjoyed a field day against Malta, but with the calibre of opposition - and indeed defending - increasing significantly on Tuesday, the Azzurri's 22-game unbeaten run on the road in Euros qualifiers is destined to come to an end.

England were far from convincing in their success over the Socceroos, but with a plethora of well-rested stars returning to the Wembley turf, another hard-fought win will do the trick and seal qualification for next year's showpiece with two games to spare.


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Written by
Ben Knapton

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