England vs Italy LIVE: Arnold Clark Cup result and final score as Rachel Daly goals seal win for Lionesses
England 2-1 Italy: Daly seized her chance after being selected up front and restored England’s lead following a controversial second-half equaliser
England made it two wins out of two at the Arnold Clark Cup as Rachel Daly’s double defeated Italy in Coventry.
The Lionesses made nine changes as Sarina Wiegman named an experimental side but Daly shone after being selected up front.
The Aston Villa striker, who played at left back in the Euros last summer, scored a header in each half as England followed up on their 4-0 opening win over South Korea.
Italy scored a controversial equaliser on 70 minutes after the ball seemed to go out of play before Sofia Cantore headed past Ellie Roebuck, but Daly restored England’s lead when she met Lauren James’ cross and powered a sensational header into the far corner.
England will face Belgium in their final match of the tournament on Wednesday, with the Lionesses in a commanding position as they look to retain the Arnold Clark Cup.
England vs Italy
England’s players are wearing purple wristbands against Italy today to display their support for gender equality and in a show of support for the Canada team.
On Thursday, Canada took their dispute with their national association onto the pitch by wearing purple jerseys with “Enough is Enough” written on the front ahead of their SheBelieves Cup opener against the United States.
The team’s protest was the latest escalation in their dispute with Canada Soccer over pay equity issues.
Canada are the Olympic champions and this week their players hit out at the “disgusting” discrepancy between the Canada men’s and women’s programmes, which became obvious last year in Qatar, where Canada’s men made their first World Cup appearance in 37 years in November.
Canada Soccer spent $11 million on the men’s programme in 2021, and $5.1 million on the women.
England vs Italy
A look at Italy:
Milena Bertolini’s side failed to reach the knockout stages of the Euros last summer but safely qualified for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where they will face Sweden, Argentina and South Africa in Group G.
Le Azzurre have lost their last four games, scoring just one goal in the spell, but boast an improving squad - as illustrated by the growing strength of their domestic league.
The Serie A Femminile only turned professional last summer but Roma have already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Italy XI: Giuliani, Bergamaschi, Galli, Giugliano, Rosucci, Giacinti, Girelli, Bonansea, Boattin, Lenzini, Salvai
England vs Italy
Sarina Wiegman on facing Italy, who have lost four games in a row in all competitions: “Italy are a pretty good team. If you look at the results, they may have been a bit disappointing for them, but I think they’ve played some proper games.
“What they do tactically is they do different things in the game which will challenge us - sometimes a little bit of a high press, sometimes dropping a little deeper, when they are in possession they do different things.
“So for us, it’s good for us to adapt to that and scan continuously as a team what they do and be proactive in that so we can control the game. That will be a good challenge for us.”
England vs Italy: Team news!
Wiegman has selected an interesting team, with notable starts for Katie Robinson, Laura Coombs, Maya Le Tissier and Jess Park, as well as Rachel Daly (we think) as a striker. Daly played left back during the Euros but is joint top scorer in the Women’s Super League this season with 10 goals for Aston Villa, where she plays up front.
There’s lots of versatility in this team, apart from Daly. Charles, Carter and Greenwood can play across the back four, so Wiegman’s line-up may look a little different once it takes to the pitch.
Keira Walsh, as expected, returns from illness while Alex Greenwood captains the team.
England vs Italy: Team news!
Here are the line-ups, and Sarina Wiegman has made nine changes to her side! Only Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter remain from the team that thrashed South Korea.
England XI: Roebuck; Carter, Le Tissier, Greenwood, Charles; Park, Coombs, Walsh, Hemp; Robinson, Daly
England vs Italy
We should have today’s team news any moment now.
Will we see Rachel Daly up front for the Lionesses?
England vs Italy: Last time out
Lauren James scored her first England goal as the European champions opened their Arnold Clark Cup defence with a 4-0 victory over South Korea in Milton Keynes on Thursday.
The Lionesses went in front in the 40th minute via a Georgia Stanway penalty won by James, moments after Alessia Russo had hit a shot against a post.
Chloe Kelly and Russo then scored in quick succession soon after the break before James capped her player-of-the match performance by breaking her senior England duck, the 21-year-old Chelsea forward striking past Kim Jung-mi in the 78th minute.
Stanway and substitute Katie Robinson hit the woodwork either side of that as well as Sarina Wiegman’s side produced a dominant display in their first fixture of the calendar year.
The round-robin competition’s table sees England - now unbeaten in 27 games under Wiegman, with 23 wins - top on goal difference ahead of Belgium, who won 2-1 against Italy in the earlier match at Stadium MK.
Arnold Clark Cup results and schedule
Thursday 16 February - Stadium MK, Milton Keynes
- Italy 1-2 Belgium
- England 4-0 Korea Republic
Sunday 19 February - CBS Arena, Coventry
- England vs Italy - 3:15pm
- Belgium vs Korea Republic - 6:15pm
Wednesday 22 February - Ashton Gate, Bristol
- Korea Republic vs Italy - 4:45pm
- England vs Belgium - 7:45pm
England vs Italy: Early team news
England are hopeful midfielder Keira Walsh will be available after missing the win over South Korea due to illness. Sarina Wiegman may rotate elsewhere, with Lauren Hemp and Rachel Daly among those who may come into the starting line-up.
When is England vs Italy?
The match will kick off at 3:15pm GMT on Sunday 19 February at the CBS Arena, Coventry.
How can I watch it?
It will be shown live on ITV 1, with coverage starting at 2:25pm. It will also be available to watch online on the ITV X platform.
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