International Break – England Qualify for Euro 2024!

The recent international break saw England play two matches, both of which were at Wembley Stadium in London. The first match was a friendly played against Australia that was largely not entertaining. The Three Lions won 1-0 thanks to a fairly routine finish from Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, who slid the ball home from close range after a low cross from Tottenham midfielder James Maddison. Always good to win of course, but no one really cared about this match. It was only a friendly, and England never play Australia outside of major tournaments. Everyone’s eyes were on the second match, a qualifier against Italy.

Italy and England have developed a little bit of a rivalry in recent years, largely thanks to the tense and bitter Euro 2020(1) final between the two nations a few years ago. England’s traditional rivals have always been Germany, France, and Argentina; yet Italy might be working their way into that conversation as well. Of course, Italy has historically dominated this matchup. It wasn’t even until earlier this year that England beat the Azzuri in Rome for the first time in 50+ years. This match carried extra importance as well. If England won (or earned a draw pending other results in the group), they would qualify for Euro 2024 next summer in Germany. It would be extra sweet to qualify by doing the double over Italy for England and manager Gareth Southgate. For the Italians and manager Luciano Spalletti, the alarm bells were beginning to sound. Despite winning Euro 2020(1), they have been fairly shambolic since. They failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, and are in real danger of not automatically qualifying for the Euros next summer unless they won this match.

And to their credit, for the opening 20 minutes or so, Italy were the better side. They took the lead on 15 minutes thanks to a high and powerful finish from West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca from about 10 yards out. Italy has needed a strong no. 9 for a few years now, and they seem to have found one in Scamacca. England needed a response, and they got one with a bit of luck from VAR. Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham was brought down in the box, and England were awarded a penalty on the half hour mark. After a lengthy VAR review, the call for a penalty stood despite it appearing that the defender got the ball before clipping Bellingham. But given how terrible VAR has been this year so far though, I will happily take VAR review going England’s way. Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane stepped up to the spot and sent Paris St. Germain and Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way with a finish into the right hand side of the net. It was Kane’s 60th goal in an England shirt, which of course continues to be the most for any England player ever. The sides went into the locker room at 1-1 after 45 minutes, with the home side in the ascendancy.

England continued their dominance into the early parts of the second half, and they were rewarded with a second goal on 57 minutes from Manchester United winger/forward Marcus Rashford. Bellingham was at the center of things again, playing the ball out wide to Rashford under pressure before running forward to join the attack. Rashford cut inside onto his right foot and skipped passed a challenge before finishing low into the right corner of the goal, with Donnarumma rooted to the spot. Rashford hasn’t gotten off to the best start at United this season, but he showed no signs of poor form with this goal. The Italian defense gave him space, and he punished them for it. Well done to Bellingham to beat the pressure he faced to provide the assist, as well. 2-1 to England, with Italy reeling.

England got a third to seal three points and Euro qualification on 77 minutes via the right boot of Kane. This was one of his more impressive England goals, as he showed how he has developed his game and evolved into a more complete striker as he has gotten older. He won a 50/50 ball on the halfway line against one of the Italian center backs, with the ball breaking kindly for him. As the Italians were playing with a high line while searching for their equalizer, Kane found himself through on goal after a nifty touch about 40 yards out. He is not known for his speed, but he used his strength and positioning skills to shield off challenges from behind him while he brought the ball forward. Donnarumma rushed out to try and narrow the angle, but Kane coolly finished over his left shoulder and made it look easy doing so. 61 goals for Kane, but more importantly, he sealed the win for England and sent the crowd inside Wembley into ecstasy.

The match ended 3-1, and there are many plaudits to be handed out. Well done to all the lads for showing composure after going down early and providing the response needed to book our tickets to Germany next summer. Italy now need serious help to qualify, as they find themselves in 3rd place in the group. It feels extremely satisfying to do the double over Italy this year and potentially send them into a tricky playoff in the process.

I could justifiably give Man of the Match to Kane for his two goals, but in this case it belongs to Bellingham. He had a hand in two of the three goals scored today and was a presence in midfield for most of the match. Jude Bellingham, Jude Bellingham, Jude Bellingham. I can’t say this young man’s name enough. He is only 20, but he is arguably the most naturally talented English player I have ever seen. This is a player who can truly do it all – dribble, pass, press, tackle, position play, and finishing. He’s been Real Madrid’s best player so far this season, and he continued his sensational form in an England shirt against Italy. Never seen a lad his size with such balance and composure. He also seems to be a bit more mature than his age would suggest, as most of his teammates for club and country describe how they love to play alongside him. The sky is the limit for Bellingham, and it’s arguable that he is (on form) the best player in the world even right now. I am so, so happy he plays for England. We have another 12 to13 years to look forward to of Jude Bellingham playing for us.

England have qualified with two matches to spare, which means that Southgate can treat the next two matches as friendlies if he wants to. This is a chance for him to experiment with line-ups and tactics, so as to be as prepared as possible for next summer’s Euros. He has hinted this will be his last tournament with England, and if it is, I hope he goes out on top. Of course, historically, qualifying for major tournaments has not been England’s problem. The disaster of 2008 notwithstanding, England usually qualify. The question remains though – can we win one? Can we win a trophy? This team looks insanely good on paper, and we have even more depth on the bench than we did last November at the World Cup. Bellingham and Kane are on fire, Rashford is coming on, and superstar Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka didn’t even play in this match. We are loaded at every position, and we need to win a trophy with this generation of players. Southgate has all the tools he needs to win, but can they finally get over the line for a nation dying of thirst for a trophy? We will see next summer!

Three Lions On the Shirts!

Euro Qualifier: England Earn a Massive Result in Italy

The Three Lions of England kicked off their qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 earlier today when they travelled to Naples, Italy for a match with the reigning European Champions at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. These two nations are easily the two best ones in Group C, so this match was a massive one as the winner would firmly be in the driver’s seat to win the group. England manager Gareth Southgate selected a similar team from England’s last match at World Cup 2022, which raised some eyebrows from the pundits. It could be argued that Italy and manager Roberto Mancini were under more pressure to get a good result today, given that they were at home and (rather hilariously) failed to qualify for last fall’s World Cup.

While Italy created the first two half-chances from set pieces in the opening minutes, it was England who were in the ascendancy for the majority of the first half. Midfielder Jude Bellingham tested Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from distance after an excellent run, but the big keeper was able to palm the shot over his crossbar. England won a corner a few minutes later though, and they found themselves ahead thanks to a scrambled finish from midfielder Declan Rice on 13 minutes. Winger/forward Bukayo Saka played a high and looping cross towards the back post, which was controlled well by striker Harry Kane. Kane got a shot away, but it was blocked by the Italian defense only for it to rebound straight to Rice. Rice took a touch to steady the ball, but then showed good instincts to knock it into the goal from about 6-7 yards out. Well done to England for converting a set piece, but Italy were at sixes and sevens. They had three men covering England center back Harry Maguire, and as a result their defenders were out of position when the rebound fell to Rice. Maguire is a big threat in the air, but it’s farcical to use three men to mark him when Kane is also in the box. Poor marking, but England were nevertheless up 1-0 and good value for their lead.

As noted, England had a ton of possession in the first half, and they could have had a second goal if not for a poor decision made by England midfielder Kalvin Phillips. Italy gave the ball away in a bad position straight to Phillips, but Phillips elected to shoot from distance. The shot was powerful but it went wide, and he probably should have opted to play in Kane on a run just ahead of him. If he played the ball in to Kane, Kane likely scores.

Kane did get the opportunity to write his name in the history books when England were awarded a penalty on 44 minutes. Another corner from Saka hit an Italian defender’s arm as it was played towards the back post. Initially the referee only gave a corner, but VAR was consulted and Serbian referee Srđan Jovanović pointed to the spot. After a slight delay, Kane stepped up and calmly put the ball into the right side of the goal. This goal was historic because it meant that Kane is now England’s all-time leading scorer, having surpassed former England forward Wayne Rooney. More on Kane below, but England were 2-0 up and looked to be in cruise control. They really should have had 3 just before halftime though, when Kane found winger Jack Grealish with a low cross. Grealish was only about 5 yards out and in acres of space to shoot with Donnarumma out of position, but he shanked the ball wide of the far post. He really should have scored! But if you told me England would be 2-0 up against the Italians in Italy at half time, I would have happily taken it.

The second half was much different though. I am not sure what Mancini said to his men in the locker room, but clearly it had great effect as the Italians were suddenly filled with energy. While England had been bossing the midfield and winning all the second balls in the first half, that very much switched to the Azzuri in the second. While England defended fairly well for the first 10 minutes or so of the second half, the Italians pulled them apart on 56 minutes to tally a response. Italy had the ball in the final third and it was at the feet of midfielder Nicolò Barella. Maguire stepped up to challenge Barella, but his tackle was poorly timed and Barella was able to get a pass to attacking midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini just outside the box. Striker (and debutante) Mateo Retegui had slipped himself in behind Maguire in space, and Pellegrini found him with a sublime reverse pass through the legs of Rice. Retegui took a touch to steady the ball and fired home with a splendid shot high into the opposite corner from 12 yards out. The whole goal was the result of Maguire being out of position and England losing the ball in midfield as well. Rice could have done better to intercept the pass as well, but credit to the Italians for taking advantage of England’s sloppy passage of play.

The final 30 minutes and stoppage time of this match were nervy ones for both sets of supporters in the stadium. The Italians continued their dominance, with England struggling to get out of their own half. Every time England cleared the ball up the pitch, it came right back at them. Southgate needed to change things, but he seemed content to leave his original 11 on while Mancini was rolling the dice with subs like he was at a craps table. Italian substitute winger Wilfried Gnoto was a particularly troublesome threat for England. His bouncing cross into the area on 77 minutes was inches away from meeting the head of a fellow attacker, and he was constantly making runs at England right back Kyle Walker.

Things really kicked off just moments after that though, when it appeared that an Italian defender handled the ball in his own box while under pressure from Kane. This time there wasn’t even a stoppage or a VAR review though, so Italy got the ball back up the pitch quickly. They were in a very promising position in their attacking third when England left back Luke Shaw delivered a challenge on Retegui. Jovanović stopped play to award a foul, and was immediately surrounded by both sets of players. Jovanović had been having trouble maintaining control of the match in the second half, with several questionable calls against England (and probably against Italy too). England were furious that VAR hadn’t stopped play to check the handball, while the Italians were screaming for Shaw to be booked and thus sent off. Shaw had been booked just minutes earlier for time wasting, but that was one of the aforementioned questionable decisions by Jovanović. After a what was almost 30 seconds of indecision, Jovanović did indeed show Shaw a second yellow and sent him off. England would have to play the final 10 minutes and stoppage time with ten men. Southgate sent on left back Kieran Trippier to replace show, replacing winger Phil Foden who had just come on about five minutes before that.

England defended the ensuing free kick well, and Southgate quickly sent on further defensive reinforcements with the introductions of right back Reece James and midfielder Conor Gallagher. It must be said that even though they were down to ten men, England somehow improved in the final moments of the match. They were getting blocks and tackles in, and Kane had started winning the ball high up the pitch again. They didn’t create any scoring chances, but they didn’t need to. They just needed to win throw-ins and fouls as often as possible, because each one would take precious time off the clock. After a less-than-expected five minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle went and England were victorious on Italian soil for the first time since 1961!

So while it was a game of two halves in which England nearly choked it away, the most important thing is that they held on to win. England under Southgate have a history of scoring first in big games, only to choke away a victory later on. They did that against these very same Italians in the summer of 2021 at Wembley when they lost in the Euros final. But that was vitally not what happened today. Despite going down to ten men after some chaotic and one-sided refereeing, they held their effing nerve and didn’t concede again! This team can score goals and they play some beautiful football at times, but they need to learn to be ruthless at the end of big matches. The players showed real grit and determination today, and that is refreshing in a big match such as this one. Interestingly, it could be argued that England should have had this match put away at halftime. If Grealish scores his big chance, it’s 3-0 to England the second half is very different. Credit to the players, and credit to Southgate for making the right subs.

Special commendations to one Mr. Harry Kane. As mentioned above, the 29 year-old Tottenham Hotspur striker became England’s all-time leading goal scorer with his spot-kick goal today! He now has 54 England goals to his name, and he is far from being done. While it’s true that his trophy cabinet is a little on the empty side, there is no questioning his dominance as a center forward. The statistics speak for themselves – Kane is the best pure goal-scorer to ever put on an England shirt. Not only does he have the record for most goals scored, he also has the record for most goals scored in competitive matches. He scores important goals. He came close to breaking the record last fall against France in that now-infamous quarterfinal, but he missed his penalty over the bar. Finessing it past Donnarumma today was a bit of redemption, though. A big penalty scored with relative ease in a very important match. He will look to extend his record over this qualifying campaign and help England qualify for Germany in 2024.

England will fly home after this match and prepare for their next qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. This was a fantastic start to the 2024 qualifying campaign, and Ukraine will provide another tough test. They are probably the 3rd-best team in Group C talent-wise, and the players will want to give their war-torn home nation something to be happy about. Shaw will be unavailable for selection due to a red card suspension, but that’s actually fine by me. Shaw has played for Manchester United a lot this season, and he needs some mandated rest.

Three Lions on the Shirts!