England 0-0 Italy
A year to the day since Euro 2020 opened in a sea of colour and sound and 11 months to the day since these two nations contested the showpiece final, the black country setting of Molyneux was the venue for a much lower-key affair.
Not that the Nations League doesn’t deserve some kudos, for it has attracted plenty of plaudits since it was launched in 2018.
However, it was hard to escape the thought this was largely of secondary importance for both nations in front of barely 3,000 spectators in Wolverhampton.
Highlights of the game
They were also mainly schoolchildren, as part of the punishment imposed on the Football Association for crowd trouble at last summer’s Euro 2020 final.
So with the atmosphere in Wolverhampton slightly surreal – manager Gareth Southgate admitted the fact England had to play in a largely empty stadium was ‘an embarrassment’ – was this really a useful exercise for both nations or just another dour game in a season which has dragged on too long? I’m convinced it’s the latter.
What it definitely proved to be was another game for Italy to blood some new young talent, a squad comprising many names unrecognisable to the majority of fans outside Italy after manager Roberto Mancini raided the under-21 squad – the boss acknowledging there is a long road ahead for the Azzurri and this competition seems the ideal competition to blood those young players.
Meanwhile, his England counterpart Southgate also had decisions to make in terms of shape and the players who fit – a chance to audition for a place in the squad for Qatar 2022.
So, who could shine and treat us to some Nations League highlights and, more importantly, stake their claim for a place at the World Cup?
The pre-match SBOTOP Nations League betting odds fancied England and they were the better team overall but it was hard to get too excited as both sides played out a largely listless draw in a contest which showed why players should be on the beach at this time of year and not playing for a 10th successive month without a proper break.
The excited youngsters in the crowd almost got the goal they craved in the first half when Chelsea’s Mason Mount crashed an effort against the crossbar.
Raheem Sterling, captain for the evening with Harry Kane among the substitutes, also fired a decent chance over from close range after Reece James whipped in a dangerous ball after the break.
Yet chances were few and far between and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to be alert on several occasions to stop the Azzurri inflicting a defeat in a meeting between two nations fielding slightly experimental line-ups.
The draw leaves Southgate’s men bottom of Group A3 with two points after three games – the halfway stage of the competition.
Italy are top with five points but really does anyone care that much?
Key statistics
This was Italy’s first clean sheet in six international matches.
Italy are unbeaten away from home since September 2018, when they lost to Portugal in the Nations League.
England have managed four shut-outs in their last seven games.
Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham were the fifth and sixth players to feature for England in a match against Italy while playing for an Italian club side, after Ray Wilkins, Mark Hateley, Trevor Francis and Paul Ince.
The average age of Italy’s starting XI was 25 years and 126 days: only v Hungary (25 years and 18 days, on Tuesday) had the Azzurri played a younger team in the Mancini era.
Kane remains four goals away from becoming England’s all-time top scorer.
England are winless in back-to-back games for the first time since September 2018.
What’s next?
England host Hungary on Tuesday (June 14) before the summer break can finally begin.
Likewise, Italy are in Monchengladbach to face Germany in the fourth of six group games.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
