England came from behind to defeat Italy 3-1 in the UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers at the Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, October 17.
The Three Lions entered this contest on the back of six wins from their last seven games, with the other being a draw. Their last two outings were friendlies against Scotland and Australia, which they won 3-1 and 1-0 respectively.
Gareth Southgate was without a couple of his main starters and fielded a slightly-changed XI for this contest.
Italy made a decent start to the game and were on the front foot as they looked to put England under early pressure. They grabbed the lead after just 15 minutes after some lackluster defending by their hosts. Giovanni Di Lorenzo played a ball across goal which found Gianluca Scamacca unmarked in the middle of the box. The striker smashed the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-0.
Di Lorenzo turned from hero to zero real quick as he brought down Jude Bellingham in the penalty area and England were awarded a spot-kick. Harry Kane stepped up and made no mistake as he leveled the game at 1-1 in the 32nd minute.
England and Italy were tied at 1-1 going into half-time.
England looked sharp to start the second half as they worked well as a team to thwart Italy's attack, before scoring from the resultant counter-attack. Once again, Bellingham was involved as he brought the ball forward from his own half before assisting Marcus Rashford for 2-1.
Harry Kane then made it 3-1 in the 77th minute with a lovely solo run and finish to put the hosts in a comfortable position towards the end of the game.
England held on to secure a 3-1 win over Italy, and on that note, let's take a look at their player ratings.
England Player Ratings
Jordan Pickford - 6.5/10
Pickford made three decent saves but also conceded one goal in a decent outing.
Kyle Walker - 6.5/10
Walker passed the ball with 97% accuracy and also made two clearances and two interceptions.
John Stones - 6.5/10
Stones passed the ball with 95% accuracy, including three long balls. He also won two duels and made one interception.
Harry Maguire - 7/10
Maguire won three duels, making two clearances and two tackles. He also played an incredible eight long balls.
Kieran Trippier - 6.5/10
Trippier won three duels, making two clearances and two tackles in the process. He also played four long balls, two crosses and one key pass.
Kalvin Phillips - 6/10
Phillips struggled to make an impact and looked out of form. He was booked inside 10 minutes for a poor tackle.
Declan Rice - 6.5/10
Rice had a decent game in midfield as he won both his duels and played two long balls.
Phil Foden - 6.5/10
Foden passed the ball with 86% accuracy, including one long ball, one cross and one key pass. He also won six duels and made one interception.
Jude Bellingham - 8.5/10
Bellingham was on-song for England as he created two goals. The first one was a penalty that he earned after driving forward and being fouled in the box. The second one was another run from one end of the pitch to the other, before laying the ball off for Rashford to finish.
Bellingham also won eight duels and made three interceptions. He completed three dribbles and played two key passes.
The Real Madrid midfielder was named Player of the Match for his stunning showing - his ninth award of the season!
Marcus Rashford - 7.5/10
Rashford had a good game as he scored a typical goal to make it 2-1 to England early in the second half. He also won five duels.
Harry Kane - 8.5/10
Kane had a great game both on and off the ball as he bagged a well-deserved brace. He won six duels, making an interception in the process. Kane also played two key passes and three long balls.
Substitutes
Marc Guehi - 6.5/10
Guehi replaced Stones in the second period and looked solid at the back.
Jordan Henderson - 6.5/10
Henderson replaced Phillips midway through the second period and put in a decent shift.
Jack Grealish - N/A
Grealish came on in the 85th minute and did not play enough minutes to warrant a rating.