England vs Italy LIVE: Nations League result, final score and reaction tonight

All the action as the Three Lions go head-to-head with the Azzurri at Molineux

Southgate: An embarrassment England playing behind closed doors

England’s first meeting with Italy since last year’s European Championship final was only a repeat of that night at Wembley in that both sides had cancelled each other out by the end of it. Otherwise, there was none of the jeopardy, none of the tension, no penalty shoot-out and thankfully, none of the trouble in the stands either. For the 1,000 or so schoolchildren watching this goalless draw in an otherwise empty Molineux due to a stadium ban on supporters, this was a memorable occasion. For everyone else in attendance, it was forgettable.

The question, three competitive games out from the World Cup, is how much Gareth Southgate has learned. For the first time in almost four years, England have gone three games without winning. This point keeps their chance of progressing from this group alive - thanks to Hungary holding Germany in Budapest - but still bottom of the group. The last goal from open play came in March, more than four hours of football ago. While admitting this end-of-season camp could have gone better, Southgate will not be overly concerned.

After all, it is difficult to separate the sluggishness on display with the fact that these Nations League games are coming at the end of a long, hard campaign. Both teams looked tired at Molineux - more tired than they did after a month of competition last year - and the fatigue particularly told during a second half that was low on real chances. Follow all the reaction for England vs Italy below:

England vs Italy

• ENG XI: Ramsdale, James, Trippier, Maguire, Tomori, Rice, Ward-Prowse, Sterling, Mount, Grealish, Abraham
• ITA XI: Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Gatti, Acerbi, Dimarco, Frattesi, Locatelli, Tonali, Pessina, Scamacca, Pellegrini
• England held to goalless draw by Italy in Nations League

[11 June 2022 18:00 · Karl Matchett]

England right-back dilemma only serves to underline Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s fall from grace at United

The Southgate five do not include the most expensive English right-back of all time. Gareth Southgate famously finds it hard to accommodate Trent Alexander-Arnold but at least he picked him in his Nations League squad, in a quintet of right-backs along with Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Reece James and James Justin. Four of them were in his original Euro 2020 squad before the Liverpool playmaker withdrew. England can look lopsided due to the luxury of options.

If that makes everyone else at best sixth choice, the chances are that Aaron Wan-Bissaka is far from that, and not merely because Kyle Walker-Peters was called up in March. England had so few fine right-backs that Glen Johnson was the lone specialist in successive World Cup squads. Now they have so many that Matty Cash has become “the Polish Cafu” in more than just nickname. Tariq Lamptey has agreed to become the Ghanaian Cafu. The precocious, but sadly sidelined, Tino Livramento has Scottish and Portuguese heritage and, if the queue for places in the England team might alert others, he should be aware that the player branded “the Scottish Cafu” was, implausibly, Alan Hutton.

And yet Wan-Bissaka’s plight is such that he now feels distanced from talk of the England pecking order. He was briefly called up in 2019 but Southgate no longer fields questions about him; he might not even if Wan-Bissaka were to choose to represent the Democratic Republic of Congo instead.

Rich Jolly on Wan-Bissaka’s uncertain future and fall from grace:

[11 June 2022 17:45 · Karl Matchett]

Phil Foden trains with England after overcoming Covid

Phil Foden trained on the eve of England’s Nations League clash with Italy after overcoming Covid-19 but Kalvin Phillips sat out the session.

The 22-year-old Foden, recently crowned PFA Young Player of the Year, missed the fixtures in Hungary and Germany after testing positive for coronavirus.

Gareth Southgate had suggested Foden’s availability for the Molineux double-header against Italy and Hungary was “doubtful” as his recovery was “a bit slow” but the Manchester City star trained with the group on Friday morning.

The attacking midfielder rejoined the Three Lions on Wednesday after they returned from Munich, where Phillips was forced off following an early collision in the 1-1 draw with Germany.

Phillips sustained the impact injury in a challenge with Nico Schlotterbeck and was absent from the open section of training at St George’s Park on Friday.

Trent Alexander-Arnold left the camp following the draw with Germany as agreed after Liverpool’s energy-sapping season went all the way.

James Ward-Prowse looks in line to start against Euro 2020 final foes Italy on Saturday after the Football Association confirmed he will join manager Southgate in the pre-match press conference.

[11 June 2022 17:30 · Karl Matchett]

Uefa Nations League Group A3 results and table

As it stands ahead of tonight’s fixtures:

1. Italy 4 (+1)
2. Hungary 3 (0)
3. Germany 2 (0)
4. England 1 (-1)

Results so far:

Hungary 1-0 England

Italy 1-1 Germany

Germany 1-1 England

Italy 2-1 Hungary

Tonight’s fixtures:

England vs Italy

Hungary vs Germany

Gameweek 4 fixtures, 14 June:

England vs Hungary

Germany vs Italy

Games 5 and 6 will be played during the September international break

[11 June 2022 17:15 · Karl Matchett]

Donnarumma determined to beat finger injury to play for Italy

Gianluigi Donnarumma was an injury doubt for these Nations League games after a finger dislocation, but says he’s happy to play on through the pain barrier.

“For this jersey, I’d play even if I was missing a finger. I have to thank the medical staff, it seemed impossible a couple of days ago to play, but with my desire to be here and their help, we did it. I want to wear this jersey for as long as I possibly can,” he told Italian media.

“It is indescribable, to be wearing the Number 1 shirt and the captain’s armband, it’s the ultimate.”

Donnarumma says the entire squad is pushing to improve and find results more consistently after their play-off disappointment.

“We do feel the desire to be together again, to work hard, all the new lads are really giving us a big hand and we will go forward with this sense of unity.

“We knew that we had to do something new, to change, to reboot and the lads all put themselves at the disposal of the coach. They are eager to work and that’s the right attitude, because this shirt is priceless.”

[11 June 2022 17:00 · Karl Matchett]

England vs Italy latest news

So where are today’s goals coming from? It has to be noted that both nations are not exactly crammed full of regular scorers on the international scene right now, with the obvious exception of Kane.

After him, there is just one player in double figures between the two squads. England’s top scorers at this level in the current squad are Raheem Sterling (19), Harry Maguire (7), Mason Mount (4). Everybody else is between three and yet to net.

For Italy, it’s midfielder Nicolo Barella (8) who is top, with Lorenzo Pellegrini (5) and Matteo Pessina (4) the only others to breach the mighty barrier of three.

Five of the seven listed forwards in Mancini’s squad have yet to score a senior goal for the Azzurri.

(Getty Images)

[11 June 2022 16:45 · Karl Matchett]

Italy’s rebuild under Roberto Mancini

A dismal defeat to North Macedonia meant no Italy at the World Cup finals - and immediate pressure on Roberto Mancini, Euros winner just 10 months earlier, to find answers and an immediate response.

Suffice to say, a 3-0 reversal to Argentina in the Finalissima did not have the desired effect to placate fans or instill confidence.

Injuries to key players haven’t helped, with the forward line in particular looking very different now to during the Euros, with Chiesa out, Insigne departing Serie A and Immobile having missed the end of the campaign through injury.

Winning the Nations League group would be a good step back towards respectability, with Italy not having to experiment ahead of Qatar in the way Germany and England may.

[11 June 2022 16:30 · Karl Matchett]

Jordan Pickford heading toward his half-century

With the goalkeepers in mind, Jordan Pickford has now moved to 45 caps - he’s certain to pass the 50 milestone at the finals in Qatar, assuming no injuries or dramatic losses of form. Even the latter might not see him removed, given Southgate’s loyalty to him in the past.

Pickford is now joint-eighth in England’s all-time clean sheets list, level with David James on 21 shutouts. The top 10:

1. Peter Shilton - 66 from 125 caps

2. Joe Hart - 43 from 75

3. David Seaman - 40 from 75

4. Gordon Banks - 35 from 73

5. Ray Clemence - 27 from 61

6. Chris Woods - 26 from 43

7. Paul Robinson - 24 from 41

8=. Jordan Pickford - 21 from 45

8=. David James - 21 from 53

10. Nigel Martyn - 13 from 23

Top of that group by clean sheets to caps ratio is Chris Woods, with 0.6.

[11 June 2022 16:15 · Karl Matchett]

Which England players could get the chance to shine against Italy?

One player who will be hoping to be fit is Fikayo Tomori.

The defender has missed both matches so far in this international break due to an injury - but he conquered the domestic game in Italy this season as a title-winner with AC Milan.

It would no doubt mean plenty to him to earn just a third cap going up against some of the forwards he has battled, and bested, at club level this season.

Jarrod Bowen will also be hoping for a third cap after a couple of bright showings so far, with Marc Guehi and James Justin - the latter carrying a knock - the outfield squad members on just one cap so far.

There is no great expectation that Gareth Southgate will rotate in goal, though both Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale are inexperienced at international level and it could be wise to see them in action again at some point before the World Cup finals.

[11 June 2022 16:00 · Karl Matchett]

Italy pose regular reminder that England have yet to find midfielder to truly control possession

Andrea Pirlo was underlining why ‘the Yorkshire Pirlo’ wasn’t really the Yorkshire Pirlo. He was complimentary about Kalvin Phillips, and sent the Leeds midfielder a message of good luck, but argued he had no equivalent on these shores.

“In England, there’s never been this kind of player,” he said. “There have been great midfielders over the years with different skills. There’s the boy at Leeds who’s a bit of a regista, but… we’re a bit different. He doesn’t have the same characteristics I had. You’ve always had box-to-box midfielders, like Frank Lampard.”

Pirlo used to specialise in illustrating what England were missing. He was the elegant intellectual who played the game his own way, all technique and no physique as the ball did the running for him. He was a one-man indictment of Roy Hodgson’s England. And years later, when Pirlo had already come and gone as Juventus manager, when England had been transformed into a far more progressive team, his analysis underlined a familiar shortcoming: England’s possession problem.

It was proved by Pirlo’s successors, the twin registas who helped Italy win Euro 2020, in Jorginho and Marco Verratti. Go back to last summer’s final and the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Verratti completed more passes, some 111, than Phillips, Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka and Kieran Trippier did between them. And if not all are central midfielders, if most did not play 120 minutes, neither did Verratti, who went off with 25 remaining.

England may be grateful that a rematch with Italy on Saturday is not a reunion with old tormentors. Jorginho and Verratti left the Azzurri squad after the Finalissima. Another chastening night may have been averted; but perhaps only postponed.

[11 June 2022 15:40 · Karl Matchett]

The case for Jack Grealish, England super sub after match-saving Germany cameo

Jack Grealish has become a connoisseur of dugouts. He can compare the Bernabeu with the Wanda Metropolitano, the Allianz Arena with the Puskas Arena, Wembley with Old Trafford, the Etihad with the Emirates. He has begun on the bench at all this season. He became the first £100m man to win the Premier League on an afternoon when he had a view of Pep Guardiola’s back: he was an unused substitute in the final-day win over Aston Villa.

One of his most famous appearances for England both began and ended on the bench: he was the substitute who was substituted in the Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark, removed so others could protect a lead. Fast forward a year and in Munich Grealish took up his now familiar position behind Gareth Southgate. But when England were behind, he was brought on and he brought them back into the game.

Not directly. It would have been a fairer reflection of his influence had Harry Kane converted an enticing cross; instead Manuel Neuer made a superlative save and the equaliser actually came from the penalty spot when Nico Schlotterbeck tripped the England captain as each chased another Grealish centre.

He did not get an assist but he was the game-changer.

Rich Jolly’s IndyPremium article on Jack Grealish and the magic he provides: