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Italy national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 23, 2023 at 7.45pm UK
 
England national football team

Italy
1 - 2
England

Retegui (56')
Di Lorenzo (53'), Jorginho (61'), Acerbi (90+2')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Rice (13'), Kane (44' pen.)
Rice (29'), Maguire (57'), Walker (71'), Shaw (78')

Harry Kane makes history as 10-man England edge past Italy

Kane makes history as 10-man England edge past Italy
© Reuters
Ten-man England hold on to beat Italy 2-1 thanks to Harry Kane's record-breaking 54th Three Lions goal.

Harry Kane officially became the greatest goalscorer England have ever seen as the Three Lions survived a late red card to eke out a 2-1 win over reigning champions Italy in their opening Euro 2024 qualifying Group C battle.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker surpassed Wayne Rooney with a 54th strike to put Gareth Southgate's side 2-0 up after Declan Rice had drawn first blood, but the Azzurri threatened a late comeback after Mateo Retegui pulled one back.

Luke Shaw was sent for an early bath with 10 minutes to go, but Italy's valiant second-half efforts were ultimately in vain as England claimed a first win on Italian soil since 1961.

While England struggled to settle during a chaotic start, Italy's relentless pressing did not translate into any meaningful chances, and Gianluigi Donnarumma was the busier of the two goalkeepers early doors.

Bukayo Saka had the first sight of goal with eight minutes gone, but the Arsenal starlet could not get a decent connection on the ball under pressure, before Jude Bellingham's powerful drive four minutes later was tipped over by Donnarumma.

Harry Kane celebrates scoring for England on March 23, 2023© Reuters

From the resulting corner, though, Saka's deep delivery to the back stick fell for Kane, whose shot was blocked before Rice found himself in the right place at the right time to crash home the rebound.

With their tails up, England thoroughly dominated the midfield battle as Bellingham and Rice ran a beleaguered Italy into the ground, potentially adding a few more pounds to their value in the process ahead of expected battles for their signatures in the summer.

Wanting his own slice of the action, Kalvin Phillips fired just wide of the post in the 32nd minute as Italy struggled to get a grip on proceedings, and another Saka corner to the back post was the catalyst for England's insurance goal in the 44th minute.

Before Kane could make the most of Saka's set-piece, the ball struck the outstretched arm of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, but referee Srdjan Jovanovic initially waved away the Three Lions' vociferous protests.

However, a spot kick was awarded following a quick look at the pitchside monitor, allowing Kane to send Donnarumma the wrong way for his record-breaking 54th goal in England colours.

The Tottenham Hotspur man let emotion take over as he basked in adulation, but disbelief was the main emotion for England in the 45th minute, as Jack Grealish missed a sitter at the back post just before the half-time whistle blew.

Italy players look dejected after Harry Kane scores for England on March 22, 2023© Reuters

Galvanised by that late reprieve, Italy came out a different beast at the start of the second half and reduced the deficit in the 56th minute through Retegui's own landmark goal.

Referee Jovanovic played a smart advantage after Nicolo Barella felt the full force of a stamp to the foot from Maguire, as Lorenzo Pellegrini fed Retegui to fire into the far corner for a debut Azzurri goal.

Very rarely sauntering out of their own half in the second 45, England were firmly under the cosh as the game approached its dying embers, and Jovanovic took no prisoners when it came to time-wasting, booking Kyle Walker and Shaw for delay tactics in quick succession.

Only a couple of minutes after being booked for taking too much time on a throw-in, Shaw was given his marching orders for a second yellow card offence, bringing Retegui down to see red after 80 minutes.

England's 10 men were also seeing red - infuriated that Italy did not put the ball out with Maguire down just before Shaw's inexcusable tackle - and Bellingham limping off the field in the 85th minute was hardly a sight for sore eyes either.

However, Southgate's side survived five minutes of added time to see out a hard-fought success ahead of Sunday's meeting with Ukraine at Wembley, while Roberto Mancini's crop travel to Malta this weekend.

ID:509746:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect6692:No Data Analysis info
Game History

How you voted: Italy vs England

Italy
32.1%
Draw
24.6%
England
43.4%
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Harry Kane celebrates scoring for England on March 23, 2023
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

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Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

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Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

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Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

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Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

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Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

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Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

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Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

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Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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