It proved to a successful night for Roy Hodgson and his side as England came from behind to record a 2-1 win over Italy in Switzerland.
Both managers named experimental lineups for the match, but it was one of the old guard, Daniele de Rossi, who sent Italy into an early lead.
Everton's Phil Jagielka levelled the match with a header just before the 30-minute mark, while Jermain Defoe rattled in the winner 10 minutes from time.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two sides:
England statistics:
Shots 12
On target 7
Possession 58%
Corners 8
Fouls 14
Italy statistics:
Shots 14
On target 9
Possession 42%
Corners 4
Fouls 12
Was the result fair?
Difficult to say. I think either side would have been disappointed to lose the match after a fairly even 90 minutes of football, but Defoe's goal was worthy of winning any match. Both sides had periods of control in each half, but clear-cut chances remained few and far between.
England's performance
There were plenty of positives for Hodgson this evening. The 4-5-1, 4-3-3 formation allowed for fluidity and their passing in midfield was certainly much improved. That was mainly due to the performance of Michael Carrick – who allowed Tom Cleverley and Frank Lampard freedom to roam. That said, their defence remained open at times with one long ball often evading the two central defenders.
Italy's performance
It's difficult to judge Italy due to the fact that they were without a number of first team stars, but those called upon certainly made an impact. AC Milan winger Stephan El Shaarawy caused Kyle Walker a host of problems in the first half. Meanwhile, De Rossi proved – as if he needed to – what a fine midfield player he is.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Michael Carrick: It was certainly between Carrick and his Manchester United teammate Tom Cleverley. Carrick just edges it, however, due to the calmness he brought to the midfield. The 31-year-old has the wonderful knack of passing the football to his teammates – something which has certainly eluded England in recent seasons.
Referee performance
Sascha Kever had a largely straightforward night this evening. Although England coach Gary Neville reportedly had words with the Swiss at the interval, with the Three Lions camp suggesting that he was being too lenient in the opening half.
Biggest gaffe of the game
It wasn't really a match full of incidents, but England's defending for De Rossi's opening goal left a lot to be desired. The blame could have been attached to a number of their defenders with a gaping hole in the middle of the penalty area.
What next?
England: Next up for England – on September 7 - is a qualification match for the 2014 World Cup against Moldova.
Italy: Meanwhile, Italy open their qualification campaign for the World Cup with an away match against Bulgaria on September 7.
Matt Law
