EURO 2024: Italy host England in Napoli
Gareth Southgate will be looking for his 50th win as England manager in this match,
Italy and England start their quest for Euro 2024 qualification with this match in Napoli on Thursday night. The Italians are looking to record consecutive wins over the Three Lions for the first time since March 2002.
Whilst this is the first time that England and Italy have been drawn in the same European Championship qualifying group, they were matched together in the qualifiers for the 1998 World Cup.
That time around, England managed to top the group ahead of the Italians despite winning neither of their qualifying games against them (D1 L1), famously drawing 0-0 in Rome in their final game to make it to France ‘98 under Glenn Hoddle.
That game in Roma was one of six consecutive away matches in Italy that England have failed to win (D2 L4), with only one goal to show from these six visits – Andros Townsend’s strike in a 1-1 draw in March 2015. England’s last away win against Italy came in May 1961, with goals from Gerry Hitchens (two) and Jimmy Greaves securing a 3-2 victory at the Stadio Olimpico, Roma.
Gareth Southgate will be looking for his 50th win as England manager in this match, in what will be his 82nd game in charge of the Three Lions. If he does this, he’d become the third England manager to reach 50 wins after Sir Alf Ramsey (79 games) and Walter Winterbottom (82 games).
Southgate will have to do something he’s never done before, however – beat Italy. The England manager has faced the Italians four times but drawn three and lost once, with one of those draws ending in a penalty shootout loss in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
Roberto Mancini will be taking charge of his 58th international as Italy manager, with the last Italian coach with more matches in a single spell in charge of the national team being Enzo Bearzot between 1975 and 1986.
Both of these sides have been placed in Group C of the European Championship 2024 qualifiers, alongside Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta. Only two teams will automatically qualify for the finals in France next summer, but as Italy won their UEFA Nations League 2022-23 group, they are already guaranteed at least a play-off spot.
This will be England’s first match since their 2022 FIFA World Cup exit to France at the quarter-final stage. Harry Kane scored England’s only goal of the game from the penalty spot to equal Wayne Rooney’s all-time England scoring record (53 goals) but missed a late penalty which would have levelled the scores and made him the outright top scorer in Three Lions history.
