Italy 1:2 England (Retegi, 56 minutes | Rice, 13 minutes, Kane Pen, 44 minutes)
STADIUM DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA. England beat Italy for the first time in over 60 years. Feels good, doesn’t it? I’m sorry you got cut. I said, doesn’t that feel right?
On the plane home, the fans will come to the conclusion that, on the one hand, this team has to qualify for another major tournament. And they will laugh at the times when they thought that victory in Naples would be serene. Is there anything simple about this damn football team?
It was a game in which Gareth Southgate spent 90 minutes with England: a great start, a clear lead, one moment of failure and then a slow collapse into something much less fun. After all, England ended their trip to Italy in a much better position than where they started and where we thought they might, so why do we feel like the praise and positivity should be kept?
A revolution, voluntary or forced by necessity, can happen at any time. But enough evolution for now. In an ideal world, Calvin Phillips would play over 56 minutes in the Premier League. But if we’re trying to go beyond Jordan Henderson, who is only 34 days away from Euro 2024, then it makes sense. Phil Foden has been ousted by Jack Grealish from Manchester City’s big games this season. the same is now true for England.
Southgate logically believes that the double pivot position in midfield will be the basis that will allow Jude Bellingham to move forward and create, while Bukayo Sake and Jack Grealish remain at their best. England is not blessed with defensive midfielders. Against small teams at Wembley, Southgate will likely select Rice, Bellingham and Mason Mount as their three midfield positions. In Naples, like everything on this trip, he chose confidence.
And in the first half the boy did it. Phillips was rusty in the first five minutes – no shock – but recovered. Rice dominated the box for the England centre-back. Bellingham liked the freer role, roaming the field and moving forward in a way that would make any English fan’s heart beat faster. For such a nimble Bellingham, it is surprisingly difficult to push the ball away. It’s about ball control.
Kane deserves it. There is an attempt to downplay penalties when comparing scorers, but England’s top scorer certainly wouldn’t have chosen any other path to stand alone and last the longest. Nothing will ever ease the pain of this failure against France, for the pain is prolonged by the constant contemplation of what might have been. But the greatness of Kane’s career is determined by his determination to overcome obstacles and keep moving forward. One day England will look back and realize how lucky the nation is to have him.
This trip to Naples was riddled with signs of danger, a tingling, awkward atmosphere that could stifle England’s attempts to express itself. But it’s not the same as Napoli, who calls it home, and the city has a rocky social and political relationship with the Italian national team. For most of the first half, the votes of the England team were the only ones rooting for the team they so wanted to play for.
And shake most of the second the same problems as this team, and yet, like moths, they are drawn to the fire. England stood deep and tried to defend their advantage, as they did with Croatia and Italy at Wembley on that chaotic July day. As in those games, it didn’t work because it created pressure that the defense usually had a hard time repelling.
The big moment that really changed the game came in the last minutes of the first half when Saka and Kane rushed forward, and one of the opponents struggled to believe in the attacking concept they saw. Grealish waited for the ball with a goal in his strength. And today he stabbed wide and crashed into the freaky.
What began as a determined defense ended in heroic blockades and England’s bloodied nails. There was poor discipline due to a red card from Luke Shaw and a vigorous yellow card from Serbian referee Srdjan Jovanovic for wasting time. But there was also courage. Anyone who accuses England of being inactive because she always concedes leadership must at least admit that she has not collapsed here.
Who am I kidding? You already know what you think of Southgate and will act accordingly. A great win in a country where England doesn’t often win to push them into another major tournament campaign, or a lucky escape from a second-rate force that hurts England much less than they do, it’s up to you. You probably already have.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.