England 3 Italy 1: Southgate and Spalletti’s tactics

England secured Euro 2024 qualification with this ultimately comfortable Wembley victory over the reigning European champions. With Gareth Southgate still at the helm, eight of England’s starting line-up in this qualifier had started the European Championship final in 2021. By contrast, Italy had only three returning starters and a manager, Luciano Spalletti, taking charge of just his fourth game for the national team.

It was Italy who took the lead, however, with former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca taking advantage of space in the box to score his first international goal. England drew level on 32 minutes when Harry Kane converted a penalty, awarded for a foul on the impressive Jude Bellingham.

Bellingham was involved in England’s second, too. He found Marcus Rashford, who cut inside and fired past Gianluigi Donnarumma. Kane then rounded things off with a masterclass of centre-forward play to register his 61st England goal. 

How the managers saw it

“I don’t think the team deserved to lose by two goals,” said Spalletti. “We played well for the majority of the game, but we need to take our chances.”

Southgate, meanwhile, was delighted by his team’s performance against a “top nation”. “It was a high-level game, from both teams,” said Southgate. “So I was really pleased with the way we controlled the game and with Jude, his mentality is incredible for his age. To have such an impact at such a young age, to show such maturity. But he also shows humility, so we're very lucky to have Jude.”

Below, our coaching experts highlight key tactical points from this meeting of two international sides of pedigree…

Italy’s right-side threat

Spalletti set his team up in a 5-3-2 defensive block out of possession, but on the ball they attacked in more of a fluid 4-3-3 shape. Their combinations in the wide areas proved most effective in the first half, particularly on their right. The far-side number eight drifted across to offer an extra option inside, while the closest number eight occupied the nearest England pivot (below, Nicolò Barella on Declan Rice).

If the visitors’ opportunities to play around England were limited, and Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s overlapping runs from right-back were tracked by Rashford, this pass inside helped Italy progress forward.

When Italy built on their left side, before then switching to the right, Di Lorenzo’s runs were less often tracked by Rashford. This worked to create an overload against Kieran Trippier, which gave Italy the opportunity to deliver dangerous crosses from their right. This was evident when Italy opened the scoring through Scamacca after 15 minutes.

Italy’s right-sided rotations continued to trouble England after the opener. Di Lorenzo looked to move even higher, with Domencio Berardi available to receive inside and both Barella and Davide Frattesi dropping deep to receive. These movements pulled Rice further out, as England tried to lock Italy in against the touchline (below), but this created room between the lines for Italy to exploit with passes or dribbles back inside.

From here, they could attack the space in front of England centre-backs Harry Maguire and John Stones, or then look again for Di Lorenzo overlapping outside Trippier.

In the second half, England were much more aggressive and compact around Italy’s wider build-up play. Trippier jumped well out of the back line to limit Di Lorenzo’s time on the ball (below), with Rashford covering passes inside into Berardi. Maguire moved across as the closest centre-back, to support England’s double pivot in protecting access back inside.

Italy’s shift to a more aggressive press off the ball, coupled with England’s more direct play, meant the visitors worked much harder throughout the second period. This increased physical demand limited their explosiveness in attack; the right-sided spark that had ignited their first-half threat ultimately fizzled out.

Exploiting Italy’s defensive changes

Despite attacking in a 4-3-3 shape, Italy converted into a 5-3-2 defensive block in the first half. Stephan El Shaarawy worked back into a left wing-back position, to create the back five. England needed to be both braver and better to play through Italy’s first line more often in the opening spell, however.

When they did, Rice was particularly progressive from the double pivot in midfield – especially when offering for the return pass. This pulled one of Italy’s number eights forward, creating room for Bellingham to combine with Kane, Phil Foden and, on occasion, Rashford. Bellingham’s ability to turn or play forward between the lines helped to disrupt the Italy centre-backs, as was shown in the combination with Kane (below) that led to the penalty from which the England captain equalised.

Italy abandoned the 5-3-2 block in the second half, instead pressing high up the pitch in a 4-4-2 shape. This played into England’s hands, as Kane dropped alongside Bellingham to form an attacking box that worked to create an overload against Italy’s two central midfielders (below).

Subsequent play over and around the Italy press helped England get into dangerous attacking areas. Kane repeatedly dragged his centre-back away from the back line before linking with his wingers. From here, the Italy full-backs were often isolated; this enabled both Foden and especially Rashford to dominate through direct dribbles. Increased central spaces proved ideal for Bellingham’s purposeful runs from midfield, one of which led to England’s second goal for Rashford.

As Italy continued to press high, Kane provided a masterclass in centre-forward play. His ability to hold, pin, roll, secure possession, set for runners or switch play repeatedly helped England bypass any Italy pressure. With the visitors committing further to regaining high, the other centre-back would aggressively move on to Bellingham (below), leaving huge spaces in behind for England to exploit.

Rashford isolated Di Lorenzo further, while Foden often worked closer to Kane as he dropped towards the England right. The hosts were ruthless in attack, with Rashford, Kane and Bellingham in particular linking superbly well to cut through Italy and complete a brilliant comeback on their way to securing their place at Euro 2024.

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