Key Takeaways from England vs. Italy: Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham Shine
The English national team has secured its spot in the European Championship and is now among the top contenders to win the title in Germany next summer. Why? Well, the presence of stars like Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who once again showcased their exceptional skills in the 3-1 victory over Italy, is a compelling reason. On the other hand, the reigning European champion is showing signs of concern. Here are three notable takeaways from the match at London’s Wembley Stadium.
England’s fifth win in its sixth qualifying match means that it can no longer be denied a place at the 2024 European Championship in Germany. Harry Kane contributed his international goals 60 and 61 (32nd/penalty, 77th) in the 3-1 win over Italy, and Marcus Rashford also scored (57th).
« We have a great team, a great team spirit – but the coach keeps us down, » said Kevin Philipps on « RTL Nitro. » For the English, ex-Dortmund player Jude Bellingham was convincing alongside Kane.
Italy had taken the lead through Gianluca Scamacca (15th). A mediocre Squadra Azzurra threatens to miss the next major tournament after the 2022 World Cup (table).
Three things that stood out at London’s Wembley Stadium.
1) FC BAYERN ALSO NEEDS THIS KANE
Things did not go according to plan for Harry Kane at the club before the international break. In the last two games for FC Bayern, England’s captain remained without a goal, and in the 3-0 loss to Freiburg, slight frustration was evident for the first time in the 100-million-euro purchase.
The change of air in the national team has obviously done Kane good. The 31-year-old brought England back into the game with his penalty goal and later put the lid on it when, starting from the halfway line, he shook off the first Italian, simply pushed the second away and then kept cool in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma – a cream goal.
What Kane hinted at at Bayern, he implemented perfectly against Italy: his willingness to go long distances to actively participate in the build-up to the game. Kane sometimes dropped into the center circle to pick up balls as a « substitute six » and then distribute them to Rashford or Phil Foden on the wings.
Processing high balls near the penalty area also worked against nasty Italian defenders. A Kane in the shape he was in on Tuesday night is gold again for FC Bayern.
2) BELLINGHAM CONTINUES GALA FORM
Ten games in charge, ten goals, and three goals in front of the net. his first season in a Real Madrid shirt is going like a dream for Jude Bellingham. The 20-year-old has long been compared to Zinédine Zidane in Spain.
To put a stop to his genius, Italy always put two opponents on Bellingham’s toes. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Davide Frattesi and Bryan Cristante shared the job of disrupting Bellingham’s circles.
The visitors succeeded as planned in the first half hour. Bellingham was unable to make an impact and lost several balls. But then Bellingham got away from his guards for the first time and immediately scored the penalty to make it 1-1 with a run deep.
The former Dortmund man was also instrumental in making it 2-1 when he took advantage of a pass from Foden in his own half to run at pace past two Italians before playing in goalscorer Rashford on the left.
Bellingham won 62 percent of his duels and finished with a 90 percent passing rate in the opposition half. He is one of the reasons why England are considered co-favorites for the European Championship title, because he also performs consistently well in the national jersey.
3) WHAT REMAINS OF PROUD ITALY?
There was negative PR in the camp of the 2021 European champions even before kickoff: In the wake of the betting scandal, national coach Luciano Spalletti sent midfielder Sandro Tonali (23) and striker Nicolò Zaniolo (24) home. The Turin prosecutor’s office is investigating both for betting and gambling on illegal platforms.
After a difficult opening phase against poisonous Englishmen, hope germinated in the 15th minute. Scamacca finished off a strong attack with his first international goal.
However, not much more came after that. Italy was permanently busy defending and had nothing to counter, especially in the last 30 minutes. « In the first half we did quite well, but it was hard, » said defender Destiny Udogie.
Regardless of the outcome of the match against Northern Macedonia, Italy will face Ukraine in a direct duel on November 20 for a place in the European Championship. Should this go wrong, there would still be the detour via the straw called Nations League playoffs.
However, it is difficult to have much confidence in this Squadra Azzurra – a team that was European champion just two years ago. The generational change has not really succeeded. Italy was already absent from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and Roberto Mancini subsequently succumbed to the lure of Saudi Arabia.
Spalletti’s successor finds himself in a challenging situation with limited options, as the quality of the players is evidently insufficient. This was evident once more in the match against England.
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