NEW “Azzurra Squadron” ARGENTINA
There is still some symbolism in the fact that the qualifying phase of the Euro Cup begins with a confrontation between the finalists of the previous Euro Cup 2020. A year and a half ago, the same teams in London disputed the title of the strongest in the continent, and then the Italians held on sensationally in regulation time and won on penalties.
Since then, the Azzurra has changed a lot, they flew past the World Cup, but they enjoyed a lot in the League of Nations. Roberto Mancini then introduced a host of new faces, but that didn’t stop him from beating all the same Englishmen in Milan, whom he hosted this time in lively Naples, with a minimal score.
This time he had a more decent squad (or maybe we’re used to it?), except for the position of center forward, ceded to Argentine Mateo Retegui, who made his debut with the Italian team, and did not play a game on Italian soil. Looking ahead, we note that the striker “Tiger” managed to excel in the first game.
Photo source: Keystone Press Agency
And for the first time since 1994, there was not a single (!) Juventus representative at the base. That is, this did not happen, even when Turin flew out of Serie A.
We saw the England team not long ago on the courts of Qatar, and there it made a very pleasant impression, although again it did not even reach the final. Gareth Southgate dispensed with the experiments. At the base came Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, all of whom are having a great season. Jack Grealish at Manchester City put Phil Foden on the bench, so there are no surprises here either. Notable is the appearance of Harry Maguire, who has almost no practice at Man United.
HERE SMELLS OF ITALIAN SPIRIT
With Mancini, the main advantage of the Italian team is the team spirit. It was thanks to him that the Italians managed to impress us at the Euros and the League of Nations. They, as always, sang the anthem with great emotion and in the first minutes rushed forward, but they could not keep this pace for a long time and allowed the opponent not only to loosen the rope, but also to quickly open the score.
In fairness, it’s worth acknowledging that this was a matter of chance. First, Bellingham in a quick attack under the crossbar, but Gianluigi Donnarumma deflected the ball for a corner, and then Kane ambushed the keeper in the far corner. His shot hit the defender, but the ball bounced off Declan Rice, who had no more to hit from 7 yards.
Photo source: IMAGO
And then the air seemed to be released from the hosts. They did not manage to do anything, neither establish control, nor move the ball to the last third of the field, much less send it to the penalty area. Completely withdrew from the game Nicolo Barella, lost in midfield between Bellingham and Rice.
KANE IS THE BEST BOMBER IN ENGLAND
The English were better at everything: speed, technique, pressing, integrity of the game, execution of the plan. Very prominent were Rice, who shot in the midfield (he touched the ball at the height of the central defenders), and Saka, who carried out the installation with discipline – he hit himself, assisted his teammates and even entered into an aggressive shortcut .
Kane was very effective in episodes. It was he who, late in the half, earned a penalty kick by heading the ball into the hand of Giovanni Di Lorenzo. The touch was not very accentuated, but after a VAR indication, the Serbian Srdjan Jovanovic approached the monitor and pointed out the ‘point’ from which Kane scored his 54th international goal. This means that he has surpassed Wayne Rooney and has become the sole leader of the England goalscoring list. The partners warmly congratulated the partner on this historic event.
Photo source: Keystone Press Agency
The first half could have ended even more tragically for the Italians, but Grealish missed the empty goal.
RETAGS: DEBUT GOAL IN THE DEBUT MATCH
Let the current composition of the Italian national team be the envy of some of the best, but at home this team can fill anyone. That is why I lost in my native walls several times. In the second half, they somehow slowly and imperceptibly for the opponent took the ball and turned the game around.
Lorenzo Pellegrini began to look completely different on him. At first he broke free in the penalty area, but shot higher, and then opened up under Marco Verratti, showed desire to shoot with a swing and subtly rolled Retegui, who only had to convert the one-on-one with Jordan Pickford – 1 : 2. He scored, yes, from the Maguire area.
Photo source: IMAGO
Well, the end was not without elimination. The partners were brought down by Luke Shaw, who received two warnings at once in two minutes. Surprisingly, the defender fouled Retegi on both occasions. The victim in this situation was Phil Foden. Southgate released him in place of a sloppy Grealish on 69 minutes, but after just 12 minutes he was forced to replace Kirani Trippier.
The end was predictable: the Azzurra Squadra fell into the Pickford penalty area with the entire team, but the British survived. And they won only the first victory in 46 years (!) over Italy in an official match. Just think about it. In the last almost half of the century, the “three lions” turned out to be stronger only in friendly matches. And finally, a historic achievement has been achieved. But Italy has nothing to worry about. The issue of entry into the Euro will be decided in matches with Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta.
European Championship. qualifying stage. 1st round
Italy – England – 1:2 (0:2)
Goals: Rice, 13 – 0:1. Kane, 44 – from the penalty spot – 0:2. Retegui, 56 – 1:2.
Italy: Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Toloi, Acerbi, Spinazzolla, Jorginho (Tonali 69), Barella (Crisante 62), Verratti (Scamacca 88), Berardi (Politano 62), Pellegrini (Nyonto 69), Retegi.
England: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw, Phillips, Rice, Bellingham (Gallagher 85), Saka (James 85), Grealish (Foden 69; Trippier 81), Kane.
Warnings: Rice, 29. Grealish, 53. Maguire, 57. Jorginho, 61. Walker, 71. Shaw, 78. Acherby, 90+1.
Elimination: Shaw, 80 (2 LCD).
Referee: Jovanovic (Serbia).
