England 3-1 Italy: Bellingham shines, as Kane and Rashford seal win
England came back from a goal down to beat Italy 3-1 on Tuesday, securing their place at Euro 2024 in Germany with two games to spare.
England remains unbeaten so far in qualifiers and has only lost one such game in 24 years.
On paper, it was not an easy group for England. They were drawn with the defending Euro champions – Italy, as well as Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta. But with five wins, one draw and no losses so far, they have managed to qualify with two games remaining.
Despite the impressive facts, England boss Gareth Southgate believes his side are still capable of much more.
“We need to make sure we are one of the top seeds next month,” he said. “We need to win our next two games. We want to be in control of that.
“We need to keep building. There is more to come from this team. This was the toughest qualifying group, with the seedings.
“People have criticised us for not beating the top teams enough. But we have performed really well.”
England on ‘right path’
The last time England faced Italy at Wembley was the Euro 2020 final – which Italy won on penalties. But since then, England have gone on to beat Italy twice.
Italy got on the scoresheet first when Gianluca Scamacca scored in the first 15 minutes, but a Harry Kane penalty goal saw the teams go level before halftime.
England produced a superb second-half display with incredible goals from Marcus Rashford and Captain Harry Kane to seal the win.
Jude Bellingham ‘key’ to England success
Despite not scoring himself, Jude Bellingham was the difference maker and all eyes remain on him going forward.
His performance has the world – and foreign media – asking: ‘Is Jude Bellingham the best in the world?’
He won the penalty for Kane’s equaliser before setting up Rashford with a wonderful display of determination and skill.
Asked if this summer’s move to Real Madrid, where he has scored 10 goals in 10 games, has improved him, Bellingham added: “100%. When you are around those mentalities and quality of players every day… it takes you to a new level mentally, physically and technically.”
