England vs Italy LIVE: Euro 2024 result and final score as qualification confirmed
England 3-1 Italy: Two goals from Harry Kane and a brilliant strike from Marcus Rashford confirmed qualification for next summer’s European Championships
England wrapped up qualification for Euro 2024 with two matches to spare as Harry Kane’s brace helped Gareth Southgate’s side secure a 3-1 comeback win againstItaly.
Italy stood in their way of early progress as these nations met at Wembley for the first time since they pipped Southgate’s men to European Championship glory on penalties.
England have come a long way in the intervening 27 months and emphatically bounced back from former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca’s early gut punch under the arch.
Kane struck from the spot after Giovanni Di Lorenzo brought down the brilliant Jude Bellingham in the box, putting the hosts on course for the point they needed to go through.
But England wanted more and returned from the break with the bit between their teeth, with Real Madrid star Bellingham beginning a brilliant counter-attack that ended with him playing in Marcus Rashford to rifle home.
It will have been a special moment given the England forward missed one of the penalties against Italy and Kane added late gloss as the skipper looks forward to leading the national team to next year’s Euros.
Follow all the reaction from Wembley below plus get the latest odds and tips for England vs Italy right here:
A moment of silence to precede tonight’s fixture
A moment of silence will precede all of Tuesday's Euro 2024 qualifying matches, including England vs Italy, in memory of "members of the European football family killed in recent days in Europe and Israel", European soccer's governing body Uefa said in a statement.
Two Swedish football fans were fatally shot in Brussels by a suspected Islamist militant on Monday ahead of Sweden's qualifying match with Belgium. The game at King Baudouin Stadium, about 5 km from the shootings, was initially suspended and then abandoned at half-time.
Hamas fighters killed 1,300 Israelis on Oct. 7 in the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel's history. Israel has responded with intensive air strikes that have killed more than 2,800 Palestinians.
Tuesday's five qualifiers feature Finland hosting Kazakhstan, Serbia at home to Montenegro, Denmark visiting San Marino, Italy playing at England, and Malta hosting Ukraine.
Kyle Walker eyes ‘little bit of payback’ as England host Italy
Kyle Walker is eyeing “a little bit of payback” when England host Italy at Wembley tonight. This Euro 2024 qualifier is the first time these sides have met at Wembley since the Azzurri pipped Gareth Southgate’s men on penalties in the Euro 2020 showpiece.
Walker admits the chance to put that ghost to bed adds a little extra spice to proceedings this evening, but the main focus is getting the point England need to seal qualification with two games to spare.
“Listen, we fell short on that night,” said Walker of the Euro 2020 final, “This is the first time they’re coming back to Wembley, so hopefully we can go out there and put a good performance on and maybe get a little bit of payback.
“I think you learn from occasions where you’ve been in finals and lose finals and setbacks, and you go on and achieve something great.
“We get a draw and we go through, so it’s about managing the game. Obviously, first and foremost, it’s about going out and putting a performance on and winning.
“But I won’t be ashamed if it’s 0-0 and we’re in the Euros and we’re going to represent my country at the finals.”
Can Luciano Spalletti remake his Napoli recipe in charge of Italy?
Luciano Spalletti was supposed to be on his Tuscan farm now. Arguably, though, he should still be at Napoli, managing what had looked like Europe’s most unexpectedly entertaining side. Instead, he will be at Wembley on Tuesday, in charge of Italy, his appointment a consequence of a combination of factors from the personal to the political, the footballing to the financial. Or, in a different way, of two emails.
One, triggering the extension in his Napoli contract without a pay rise, stemmed from club president Aurelio De Laurentiis, and instead prompted his resignation. A need for a sabbatical on his farm the cited reason; a breakdown in relationships more of a cause. The other, from Roberto Mancini’s camp a few months later, was his sudden resignation as Italy manager, the first to lead the Azzurri to a major title since Enzo Bearzot, trading the patriotism of leading his country for a reported £20m a year to take charge of Saudi Arabia instead.
And so it will be Spalletti in England, his presence a product of the enduring pulling power of the Azzurri job. While elite club coaches often eschew the international game, three of the last four incumbents, including Antonio Conte, are Scudetto winners, whereas no England manager has won the Premier League or the old Division 1 since Don Revie. It comes after the greatest feat of a career in the dugout that dates back three decades.
Can Luciano Spalletti remake his Napoli recipe in charge of struggling Italy?
Head coach led Napoli to a historic Serie A triumph last season but faces a whole new challenge resurrecting the Italian national team as they take on England at Wembley on Tuesday night
England vs Italy
Italy manager Luciano Spalletti’s previous game at Wembley came while in charge of Inter Milan, losing 1-0 in November 2018 against Spurs in a Uefa Champions League match.
The last four Italy managers to face England for the first time have all drawn, with Giovanni Trappatoni the last manager to beat the Three Lions in their first game against them (1-0 in November 2000).
England vs Italy
Harry Kane has been directly involved in at least one goal in 17 of his 18 appearances in European Championship qualifying for England (20 goals, eight assists), including the last 14 in a row.
The only game he didn’t score or assist in was against Estonia in October 2015.
England vs Italy
Should Declan Rice or Harry Kane score for England in this match, they could emulate Tommy Lawton in scoring in consecutive appearances for the Three Lions against Italy, with Lawton the only player to ever do so, with his goals coming nine years and three days apart between 1939 and 1948.
England vs Italy
England have suffered just one defeat in their last 62 major tournament qualifiers (World Cup/Euros), a 2-1 reverse away at Czechia in October 2019 (49 wins, 12 draws).
At home, the Three Lions are unbeaten in their last 35 such games (31 wins, four draws) since losing to 3-2 to Croatia in November 2007 under Steve McClaren.
England fans may have turned on Jordan Henderson — but he still has Gareth Southgate
It was a character reference for a man who has become an ambassador of sorts for Saudi Arabia. The England faithful – or some of them, anyway – had turned on Jordan Henderson when he was booed off in Friday’s win over Australia. The England manager offered an endorsement of his vice-captain: not merely as a midfielder, either, but as a principled individual.
The Henderson of Al-Ettifaq, the man who used to support the NHS and the LGBTQ community instead plugging Saudi’s 2034 World Cup bid, stands accused of either being the opposite of the Liverpool incarnation or a figure whose decision to join the Saudi Pro League led him to become a public face of a repressive regime.
Gareth Southgate can see why many have a sense of disappointment, why there is a seeming contradiction. Yet he also argued that Henderson remains the same person, one who has helped create the right kind of culture with England.
England fans may have turned on Jordan Henderson — but he still has Gareth Southgate
The England manager has continued to show loyalty towards Henderson despite his controversial, and deeply unpopular, move to Saudi Arabia
England vs Italy
Italy haven’t lost any of their last 22 away European Championship qualifiers (17 wins, five draws) since a 3-1 defeat to France in September 2006.
If they avoid defeat here, they would set a new record for unbeaten away Euros qualifiers – Romania also had a 22-game run between 1991 and 2007.
England vs Italy
England have won their last 12 home European Championship qualifiers by an aggregate score of 47-4.
A player has scored a hat-trick in four of their last six on home soil – Raheem Sterling versus Czechia (March 2019), Harry Kane versus Bulgaria (September 2019) and Montenegro (November 2019) and Bukayo Saka against North Macedonia (June 2023).
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