Son Heung-min’s teammate Harry Kane (Tottenham) surpassed Wayne Rooney (retired) to become the main character for the most individual goals in England’s A match. England was outnumbered by Luke Shaw’s sending off, but Rice’s opening goal and Kane’s final PK goal took Italy over. Euro 2024 qualifiers started well. It is the first time in 62 years that England has won an away game in Italy since 1961. Italy, on the other hand, lost their first match at home.
On the 24th (Korean time), England토토사이트 won 2-1 and won 3 points in the first match of Group C of the Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy at Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy. In Italy, Letegui scored the first goal in his A-match debut, but it was not enough. In the other Group C match, North Macedonia defeated Malta 2-1.
From the start of the game, Italy hampered England’s build-up with strong forward pressure. Italy came out with a 4-3-3 formation. Pellegrini-Letegui-Berardi in the front line, Verati-Gorginho-Barella in the back, Spinazzola-Achervi-Toloi-DLorenzo in the back four, and goalkeeper Donnarumma. Letegui (24), who came out as a central striker, was fresh. He is a young gun playing in the Argentine League. Italian manager Mancini’s concern is the central striker. There is no clear center forward.
Italy mainly dug in on the left flank. However, England’s defensive balance was solid and not easily broken. England responded with a quick counterattack after defending. In the 12th minute of England’s first half, Bellingham’s mid-range shot was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper’s super save. In the chance that followed, England scored the first goal in the 13th minute after a corner kick, when Rice kicked in with his left foot. Kane’s shot hit the opposing defender’s body and kicked it back.
England came out in a 4-3-3 formation. Grealish-Kane-Saka in the front, Bellingham-Rice-Phillips in the middle, Shaw-Maguire-Stones-Walker in the four-back, and goalkeeper Pickford started. England striker Rashford (Man United) was called up this time but missed due to injury.
England, who took the lead with the opening goal, escaped Italy’s pressure well. Italy allowed a counterattack from the defense as the forward pressure was released. England had the upper hand in the back fight. It was shown that Jorginho was taking the ball away from strong pressure. In the 31st minute of the first half, England’s grounder mid-range shot slightly missed the Italian goal.
England got a PK through VAR (video review) in the 42nd minute of the first half. The referee judged after an ‘on-field review’ that Italian defender DiRogenzo had committed a handball foul while competing with Kane for the ball in the air during a corner kick situation. In the 44th minute of the first half, Kane, who succeeded in PKing (81 matches in A matches), set the record for the most individual goals in England with his 54th goal in A matches. It surpassed previous Rooney (53 goals). England finished the first half with a 2-0 lead. England showed their strength in the corner kick set-piece. Italy moved busily, but it was not effective, and rather showed loopholes in the set-piece defense and conceded points. Italy had no shots on target in the first half.
Both Italy and England started the second half with the starting lineup unchanged. Kane sat on the ground for a while after being hit directly in the stomach by an aerial ball while defending a corner kick in the 3rd minute of the second half.
In the 11th minute of the second half, Italy scored a comeback goal by Letegui. In his A-match debut, he scored his first goal. With help from Pellegrini, Letegui kicked hard with his right foot. Italy, who pursued 1-2, wrote a replacement card. In the 21st minute of the second half, Politano and Cristante were put in as jokers. The stadium heated up with loud cheers from the Italian fans.Italy launched a wave of attacks. The mood at the stadium has shifted to Italy. England was in a hurry to defend. He looked a bit tired, and his movements slowed down. England coach Southgate put in Foden in the 23rd minute to change the atmosphere. Italy increased the offensive by putting Tonali and Nyonto as jokers.
In the 35th minute of the second half, defender Shaw was sent off for an accumulated warning while defending, leaving England behind in numbers. England, in a hurry, removed Foden and put in Trippier to reorganize the defensive line. Reese James and Gallagher were also put in. It’s about keeping the lead by one point. Italy even put in striker Skamaca to aim for an equalizer.
When Italy attacked, England defended. England responded with all defense. No more goals were scored. Italy lacked finishing, England defended well.
Whoscored.com, a European statistics site, gave Kane a rating of 7.8 and Rice 7.5. Italian scorer Letegui received 6.7 points, Pelliglini 7.0 points and Verratti 6.8 points. The BBC reported that ‘Kane’s record goal was England’s first win away from Italy since 1961’. Goalkeeper expert Rob Green appeared on BBC radio and said, “England showed very good individual skills in the first half. The second half was not visible. (Show) I was shaken after the exit, but I controlled the game well.”
Meanwhile, in another Euro qualifier game, Ronaldo’s Portugal defeated Liechtenstein 4-0. Ronaldo scored multiple goals, including PK goals, in his 197th match, the highest ever in A-match history. Denmark beat Finland 3-1 at home.