Euro 2016

Jamie Carragher: 'Italy no better than England'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 29 June 2016

Former England international Jamie Carragher claims that the current squad of players are no worse than Euro 2016 quarter-finalists Italy in terms of technical ability.

Former England defender Jamie Carragher has claimed that the Three Lions' current squad of players is no worse than that of Italy.

England suffered a humiliating early exit from Euro 2016 at the hands of Iceland on Monday, falling to a 2-1 defeat against the smallest nation to ever qualify for a major international tournament.

Italy, by contrast, are gearing up for a quarter-final against Germany, but Carragher believes that the main difference between the sides is that the Azzurri are more "streetwise".

"I wouldn't say Italy, who have powered through to the quarter-finals, are technically superior to us. Emanuele Giaccherini, remember, had a spell at Sunderland but could not get a game. Graziano Pelle is leading Italy's line but he wouldn't have got in England's 23," he wrote in his column for Mail Sport.

"So why are they dreaming of a potential date in the final while we are conducting a post-mortem? They are streetwise, they know how to deal with situations. Their defenders mark you so tight at set pieces that it feels as if they are in your boots. They give cute fouls away. They know how to win.

"Each man knows his job and what he is there to do, so the system never breaks down. Crucially, they don't panic even when the pressure is intensifying. What do England do? Visibly shrink. I've never seen a starker example than against Iceland."

Italy will face world champions Germany on Saturday looking to extend their unbeaten record against Die Mannschaft in major tournaments.