England 3 - 1 Italy
England scorers: Harry Kane (32' pen., 77'), Marcus Rashford (57')
Italy scorers: Gianluca Scamacca (15')
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Referee: Clément Turpin (France)
| Starting XI | Notes | Subs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Pickford | Aaron Ramsdale | ||
| John Stones | 63' | Sam Johnstone | |
| Harry Maguire | Lewis Dunk | ||
| Kyle Walker | Levi Colwill | ||
| Kieran Trippier | Marc Guéhi | 63' | |
| Kalvin Phillips | 9' 69' | Trent Alexander-Arnold | |
| Declan Rice | Jarrod Bowen | ||
| Marcus Rashford | 57' | Jordan Henderson | 69' |
| Jude Bellingham | 85' | Conor Gallagher | |
| Phil Foden | James Maddison | ||
| Harry Kane | 32' 77' | Jack Grealish | 85' |
| Ollie Watkins |
Manager: Gareth Southgate (England)
| Starting XI | Notes | Subs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gianluigi Donnarumma | Alex Meret | ||
| Giorgio Scalvini | 65' | Guglielmo Vicario | |
| Francesco Acerbi | 63' | Alessandro Bastoni | 63' |
| Giovanni Di Lorenzo | 28' | Gianluca Mancini | |
| Destiny Udogie | 10' 63' | Federico Gatti | |
| Bryan Cristante | Matteo Darmian | ||
| Davide Frattesi | Federico Dimarco | 63' | |
| Nicolò Barella | Manuel Locatelli | ||
| Domenico Berardi | 78' | Giacomo Bonaventura | |
| Stephan El Shaarawy | Giacomo Raspadori | 78' | |
| Gianluca Scamacca | 15' 63' | Moise Kean | 63' |
| Riccardo Orsolini |
Manager: Luciano Spalletti (Italy)
1': We're off!
9': Kalvin Phillips carded for a rough late challenge on Frattesi
10': Destiny Udogie goes into the book after Foden steals an underhit pass from Frattesi, forcing Udogie into the tactical foul
13': Rashford's free kick gets over the wall! And just misses the top corner.
15': GOAL ITALY!! Di Lorenzo fires a cross, it takes a tiny deflection but reaches Gianluca Scamacca who roofs it from close range!
23': Scamacca goes for his second! Fires wide.
26': Bellingham's header towards the far side is weak and easily saved by Donnarumma.
28': PENALTY FOR ENGLAND!! Bellingham scythed down by Giovanni Di Lorenzo! A long VAR check to confirm it and give Di Lorenzo a card.
32': GOAL ENGLAND!! Harry Kane takes the penalty right down the middle!
36': Almost another goal for Italy from a cross from the right! But Stones makes a crucial desperate block.
40': Pause for medical attention as Bellingham and Scalvini crack their heads together.
44': SAVE! Rashford gets around Di Lorenzo and fires but it's right at Donnarumma.
45+2': SAVE!! Pickford gets down in time and denies Udogie from close range! Gives up a big rebound right up in the middle but the defense shuts it down.
45+3': Acerbi misses the target from a difficult angle.
HT England 1-1 Italy Exciting match so far!
46': We're back!
48': Foden goes down in the box, it won't be given as a penalty. Looked like a dive to me in real time but upon replay I think Italy got away with one there.
51': Phillips puts a shot over the bar from distance.
56': Berardi fires way over.
57': GOAL ENGLAND!! Bellingham launches the counter, then feeds it to Marcus Rashford on the left, Rashford cuts down the edge of the box and fires between the defenders!
61': Scamacca on target! Stopped and claimed comfortably by Pickford.
63': England substitution: Marc Guéhi on for John Stones
63': Italy triple sub: Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco and Moise Kean on for Francesco Acerbi, Destiny Udogie and Gianluca Scamacca
65': Giorgio Scalvini carded for dissent after a bad no-call on Phillips.
68': SAVE! Foden smashes a shot from distance but Donnarumma down in time!
69': England substitution: Jordan Henderson on for Kalvin Phillips
77': GOAL ENGLAND!! A beautiful solo goal from Harry Kane, dribbling through the three-man defense and finishing over the keeper's outstretched arm!
78': Italy substitution: Giacomo Raspadori on for Domenico Berardi
85': England substitution: Jack Grealish on for Jude Bellingham
90+1': Kean stabs a shot on target but Pickford is behind it all the way.
FT England 3-1 Italy England qualifies for Euro 2024!
Who's the biggest contender besides England at the Euros? Spain?
Haven't watched many national team matches since the world cup but England looking scary.
Portugal and France
France is still by far and away the favourite
Germany are now a bit of wildcard as things.
Portugal and probably Spain being the other shouts.
France
Spain are a good side and might make the semis, but they're not one of the favourites. The main favourite is obviously France. They've been the best european team for almost the last 8 years. England are close behind them and their results in the last 5 years have showed that. Portugal are also looking strong but they haven't done anything of note in the last 5yrs, I don't think they have the experience to win it next year.
Here are some other decent teams that I don't consider serious contenders. Croatia, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Croatia did well at the world cup but they're a bit old and don't do well at the euros. Belgium are in decline from their golden generation's peak in 2018, still a good side obviously but their best chance at winning the euros was 2021 when they made the QF but France didn't. Belgium had a good shot at 2016 but they blew it to Wales, their window has passed. The Netherlands haven't really made any progress in the last few years even with all their young talent, a QF loss expected unless they have an easy draw. Germany are in a rut but they're the hosts so they could be a surprise and make a run, maybe even to the semis if the draw is lucky to them.
France are absolutely favourites and rightly so.
France