Southgate’s England break down more barriers with Italy win

LONDON — England booked their place at Euro 2024 on Tuesday night with the kind of victory that suggests they could soon be ready to clear the final hurdle on their path to tournament glory.

Perhaps the final challenge Gareth Southgate will face to end the Three Lions’ 58-year wait for a major trophy next summer is to consistently beat the best teams in world football.

England reached a semi-final, a final and a quarter-final in Southgate’s three tournaments as manager, but his detractors frequently point out that defeats to Croatia, Italy and France to end to these series are symptomatic of a long-standing problem in establishing themselves at the elite.

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Southgate’s record against teams currently ranked in FIFA’s top 10 before Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Italy was as follows: 27 games, seven wins, nine draws, 11 losses, which equates to a rate of victory of only 26%.

In that context, then, this is a performance that can inspire England fans to dare to dream of what might be possible in Germany next summer, a deserved come-from-behind success against the European champions in title.

Of course, any talk of revenge was fanciful given the different stakes, but it will nonetheless contain a cathartic feeling for England, beating Italy two years after their delayed Euro 2020 penalty shootout defeat in the final, Marcus Rashford scoring at the end after missing one of the decisive spot kicks.

Eight of those starters started the game here – only Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling were absent – ​​but it was Jude Bellingham who stole the show with an action-packed performance summed up by England’s second goal.

It will be a further boost to England’s confidence as they recovered from a shaky start, conceding Gianluca Scamacca’s well-worked opening goal in the 15th minute. In response, Bellingham were brought down by Giovanni Di Lorenzo for Harry Kane to convert a penalty in the 32nd minute before producing one of those breakthrough moments for which he is quickly gaining such a high reputation.

The 20-year-old – yes, still only 20 – won the ball before collecting Phil Foden’s pass with the kind of advancement associated with Paul Gascoigne, watching among the 83,194 spectators, at his peak before releasing Rashford , who cut inside and fired a low shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma. Kane added a third with the kind of assured centre-forward play that served as a reminder once again that he has few modern-day peers, registering his 61st international goal with a wonderfully assured finish.

Southgate likes to nibble on England’s historic millstones. After beating Italy in Italy for the first time since 1961 in March, England achieved their first victory against Italy. Azzurri on its national soil since 1977.

These are not breakthrough achievements in themselves, but they are nevertheless a reminder that England have not been as good as they would have liked for a long, long time, and Southgate, steeped as he is in the story of the Three Lions, knows that progress is a capricious animal. For a team that failed to even reach Euro 2008, qualifying so easily should not be taken for granted. Nights like this are tangible proof that England are developing towards something like the finished article they need to triumph in Germany, collecting positive experiences that must help them execute their game plan when the pressure becomes most acute next summer.

England have enjoyed their most exciting period in recent times in unleashing new talent onto the world stage – think Michael Owen in 1998 or Wayne Rooney in 2004 – and Bellingham has the capacity to make the same impact, even if the cat is fine. and really out of the bag considering his remarkable form for Real Madrid this season.

Southgate has overhauled his midfield to give him the platform to influence games from a position closer to 10th, a move that looks more and more justifiable with each passing week.

Just as Bellingham excelled against Scotland, it did so against better opposition here, allaying pre-match grumblings about Kalvin Phillips’ inclusion as part of that rig despite 167 minutes of action in the first team at Manchester City this season. Phillips was lucky not to be sent off here, picking up an early yellow card for a farming challenge on Davide Frattesi before escaping for a second despite a late tackle on Nicolò Barella. He was substituted for his own good, and the 70 minutes he played here means he now has more time on the pitch for England (188 minutes) than he has for his club since August. Jordan Henderson once again received a mixed reception as a substitute.

However, England’s attacking play benefited from the Phillips-Declan Rice axis in central midfield. Kane finished the night as England’s top scorer at Wembley – surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton with 24 goals at the iconic venue – and his influence spanning such a long period is profound: the 30-year-old been directly involved in 33 goals in his last 30 appearances for England (27 goals and six assists), including a goal or assist in each of his last 10 matches.

Rashford, Bellingham and Foden floating around him looked dangerous all evening after that slow start. Bukayo Saka will return from injury while Jack Grealish and James Maddison remained unused on the bench.

Excitement will now build if Southgate has the majority of these players fit and available next summer. The ultimate question remains whether they can compete with the best, but such victories breed new hope.