England welcome Italy to Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening for the first time since losing a penalty shootout against the Azzurri to decide the final of Euro 2020.
Gareth Southgate described the defeat as “incredibly painful” at the time but earned some semblance of revenge with a historic away victory against Italy in Naples last March.
England have not recorded consecutive wins against Italy since the late 1940s, when the nation’s only World Cup-winning manager, Sir Alf Ramsey, was in the team.
Here’s the XI Southgate may put out in search of a win which would virtually secure England’s spot at the 2024 European Championships in Germany.
GK: Jordan Pickford – Worn down by years of being called ‘Piggy’, Pickford’s father Lee changed his last name from Pigford to spare his son the teasing.
RB: Kyle Walker – By scoring his maiden goal on his 77th cap against Ukraine, Walker had the longest wait of any male English international to find the net.
CB: John Stones – After a brief cameo against Australia, Southgate could give Stones his first start for club or country since August.
CB: Lewis Dunk – Overlooked for so many years, Brighton’s chief matador in their press-baiting system under Roberto De Zerbi has started England’s last two matches.
LB: Kieran Trippier – One of the few players to captain England while playing overseas, Trippier could be shoehorned into the left-back berth once again if Southgate doesn’t fully trust Levi Colwill.
CM: Kalvin Phillips – After consistently being overlooked at Manchester City even in Rodri’s absence, a player who relaxes by watching David Attenborough documentaries may have burned through plenty of episodes of Planet Earth recently.
CM: Declan Rice – The numbers behind Rice’s start to life at Arsenal clash with what looks to have been a smooth transition – particularly out of possession; Bukayo Saka has made more tackles than the team’s defensive lynchpin this season bizarrely.
CM: Jude Bellingham – “Around the pitch, I want to be an artist,” Bellingham says. He has certainly lived up to that goal during his short but hugely successful time at Real Madrid.
RW: Phil Foden – Across his previous four starts for England, Foden has directly contributed to four goals (two scored and as many created).
ST: Harry Kane – The nation’s skipper became the first England player to score a winning goal against the Azzurri on Italian soil since Jimmy Greaves, the man that he surpassed to become Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time top scorer, in 1961.
LW: Jack Grealish – Ollie Watkins pinched a goal off Grealish against Australia but he may be given the chance to find the net himself on Tuesday – although Marcus Rashford is also a viable candidate for the left wing.
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