The UEFA Euro 2020 Final between England and Italy remains a pain to fans of Three Lions who are hoping for football to come home, but they can surely take comfort in yesterday night’s 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifier victory at Wembley. In a rematch of the finale at the same stadium two years ago, Gareth Southgate’s side impressively came back from 1-0 down and scored thrice to beat Luciano Spalletti’s gli Azzurri 3-1 before their roaring home fans, thus securing a hard-earned spot in the Finals at Germany next summer. Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford were the scorers for the Three Lions in this game.
UEFA Euro 2020 Final Rematch at Wembley
Both European football powerhouses met a total of three times in the span of nine months since that Euro Final in July 2021, and they each collected a win, a draw and a loss. Nevertheless, none of these games can match yesterday’s Matchday 8 fixture of the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers, since it was played at Wembley, the venue where the Three Lions agonisingly lost the penalty shootout at against the gli Azzurri two years ago. Every spectator can still vividly remember the team in blue came back from Luke Shaw’s opener and Andrea Belotti’s missed spot kick on their way to capturing their second European title.
For this UEFA Euro 2020 Final rematch at Wembley, Southgate opted for an entirely different starting lineup compared to the one he fielded against Australia in last Friday’s 1-0 international friendly win while the England game was the fourth match for new gli Azzurri manager Spalletti, who succeeded Roberto Mancini last September.
Elsewhere in Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo helped his side to book a ticket in the Germany Finals next summer with a brace against Slovakia in their own Matchday 8 game. Read here for the full match details we have prepared for you now.
England Vs Italy. Its time for revenge pic.twitter.com/KA7cPnboes
— Trey (@UTDTrey) October 17, 2023
Three Lions Came Back From 1-0 Down to Overcome gli Azzurri
England did not get the perfect start they dreamed for, as Spalletti’s Italy broke the deadlock in the 15th minute of the game, courtesy of 24-year-old centre forward Gianluca. The away team started the attack from the left flank, before Stephan El Shaarawy’s pass was almost intercepted by Declan Rice. The ball then fell before the feet of Domenico Berardi, who then spotted Giovanni Di Lorenzo for an advanced run. The Napoli captain did not hesitate for his delivery, and despite midfielder Davide Frattesi’s missed kick, Scamacca was not going to miss the chance around the six-yard box. The Atalanta BC forward put his team ahead with his first ever goal for gli Azzuri.
The first blood was a wake-up call for Southgate’s Three Lions in this UEFA Euro 2020 Final rematch, and it was their captain who led by example once again in their comeback. Kane and in-form midfielder Jude Bellingham played a one-two, before the Real Madrid star charged towards the Italian goal and brought down by Di Lorenzo in the penalty box. The right-back who provided Italy’s goal in the match soon turned from hero to zero, as his penalisation saw Kane send Gianluigi Donnarumma to the wrong way and equalise for the home side.
Both teams traded blows in the following 25 minutes, but only the Three Lions were able to find more goals in this 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifier. After play was continued in the second half, England won the ball back in their own half and wasted no time to counter on Italy’s failed attack. Phil Foden found Bellingham with an accurate pass, followed by the 23-year-old’s brilliant flick run and a square to Manchester United man Rashford. The forward then raced towards the Italian backline and scored a trademark left-winger goal by cutting inside for a wonderful strike. His 17th goal for the Three Lions immediately brought the roof down for the fans at Wembley.
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Kane Reached 61 Goals for England
With a valuable lead gained, the Three Lions were not going to let that slip away this around at Wembley. Less than 20 minutes after Rashford’s strike, England extended their cushion to two goals via their Captain Fantastic Kane. Substitute Marc Guéhi launched a long pass to find his 30-year-old skipper up front, and another replacement Alessandro Bastoni’s block did not go far. The ball immediately returned to the new Bayern Munich striker, who then took on the entire Italy defence all by himself. Kane first nutmegged Giorgio Scalvini and sprinted almost a quarter of the pitch, before he intelligently picked the middle spot of the net to score his 61st goal for England.
Kane’s double and Rashford’s effort secured the Wembley revenge over the Italians and the all-important three points for the Three Lions, allowing the team to be one of nine teams to qualify for the Finals in Germany next summer; The other eight nations who are joining the Three Lions in the 2024 tournament are Germany (Hosts), Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Scotland, Türkiye and Austria.
Southgate Thinks That Football Is Coming Home in UEFA Euro 2024
Head coach of the Three Lions Southgate had nothing but praises over his boys during the post-match conference. He said: “Really pleased to win the game tonight. That’s the first thing. We know that the games against the top, top nations are the ones that we want to make a step forward with. We still need to win the games next month because it can affect seeding. Nice to get it done early. I think it’s probably the toughest qualifying group, with Ukraine, Italy and the results that North Macedonia have had, not only in this qualification but also in previous qualifications.”
The Three Lions’ gaffer certainly was not shy when speaking about England‘s chances in Germany next year. “I think we’ve continued to do that through this calendar year. I think our performances have been good. I think the players that played against Australia did a brilliant job for us. If we didn’t have the depth that we’ve got and the mentality to come through what was a really tough night for them, we wouldn’t have been able to have the freshness that we had tonight to give ourselves the best chance of winning the game.”
