ENGLAND are struggling to break down a stubborn Italian side in front of a reduced crowd at Molineux.
The Three Lions went down to a lacklustre 1-0 defeat in Hungary in their opening game before a Harry Kane penalty earned a late 1-1 draw in Germany on Tuesday.
And this time around they have the added incentive of avenging the Euro 2020 final.
Italy beat the Three Lions on penalties at Wembley last summer to deny them a first ever European Championship and take the title to Rome.
But things have taken a turn for the worse for Roberto Mancini’s men since then and, unlike England, they will not be participating in November’s World Cup.
- Kick-off time: 7.45pm UK
- TV channel: Channel 4
- Live stream FREE: Channel4.com
- England team: Ramsdale, James, Maguire, Tomori, Trippier, Rice, Ward-Prowse, Mount, Sterling, Grealish, Abraham.
- Italy team: Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Gatti, Acerbi, Dimarco, Locatelli, Frattesi, Tonali, Pessina, Pellegrini, Scamacca.
- Why are there no fans? Only three thousand children have been allowed to attend as Uefa handed England a game behind closed doors for crowd trouble during the Euro 2020 final.
Stay up to date with all the action in our live blog…
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70. England 0-0 Italy
Gnonto makes an instant impact as he drives towards goal, but his effort hits the side netting.
20 minutes to go…
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66. England 0-0 Italy
Mancini also makes some changes.
Esposito replaces Locatelli.
Gnonto replaces Pellegrini.
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65. England 0-0 Italy
Southgate makes England’s first three changes of the evening.
Kane replaces Abraham.
Bowen replaces Mount.
Phillips replaces Rice.
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62. England 0-0 Italy
Huge chance for Italy!
Pellegrini sends a fantastic pass to Di Lorenzo who makes a run into the box, but he cannot get the shot away.
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55. England 0-0 Italy
Grealish sets the ball to Sterling in the box, but his shot rolls into the hands of Donnarumma.
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53. England 0-0 Italy
Huge chance for England!
James sends a fantastic cross into the box from the right.
It reaches Sterling at the back post, but the winger completely misses the target from four yards out!
How did he miss that?!
Credit: Getty -
52. England 0-0 Italy
The Three Lions are struggling to find a gap in Italy’s defence.
They are maintaining possession well, but the Azzurri have almost every man behind the ball.
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48. England 0-0 Italy
Pellegrini is given space to drive towards goal.
He sets the ball to Gatti, but his final strike flies over the bar.
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Kick Off – England 0-0 Italy
We’re back underway!
No substitutions have been made yet.
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Half Time – England 0-0 Italy
That was probably England’s best performance of the competition so far.
Each player looked comfortable on the ball going forward, and the team as a whole are keeping the intensity high.
Italy have looked dangerous at times, but the England defence have done well to keep them out.
Aaron Ramsdale has done extremely well to keep a clean sheet so far on just his second Three Lions appearance.
Credit: EPA -
Half Time – England 0-0 Italy
Nothing separates these two sides going into the second half.
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45. England 0-0 Italy
A bizarre collision between Grealish and Tomori sees the ball fall into the path of Pessina.
The winger attempts to strike, but his effort is blocked.
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44. England 0-0 Italy
Pessina unleashes a powerful strike from the edge of the box, but Ramsdale is there to make an excellent save!
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42. England 0-0 Italy
Pessina crosses the ball to Scamacca in the box, but the striker’s effort flies over the bar.
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40. England 0-0 Italy
Mount unleashes a powerful strike on the edge of the box, but it flies straight into the arms of Donnarumma.
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37. England 0-0 Italy
Mount crosses the ball into Grealish at the back post, but he struggles to bring it down and Italy can eventually clear the danger.
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35. England 0-0 Italy
Ward-Prowse picks out Sterling on the right with a fantastic pass.
The winger attempts to cross the ball into the box, but Italy can clear.
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28. England 0-0 Italy
The ball finds Grealish in the box, he attempts to poke it towards goal but his effort is blocked.
He is then booked for an earlier challenge on Gatti.
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25. England 0-0 Italy
What a save from Ramsdale!
Di Lorenzo squares the ball to Tonali in the box, the midfielder’s shot is on target but Ramsdale can get across to make a fantastic save!
Locatelli is then booked for a challenge on Mount.
Credit: Richard Pelham / The Sun -
18. England 0-0 Italy
Chance for England!
Ward-Prowse sends a fantastic corner into the box.
It finds Rice at the front post who attempts to volley towards goal, but his effort is off-target.
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15. England 0-0 Italy
Both sides have played with a quick tempo in the opening stages.
The Three Lions have looked comfortable on the ball.
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9. England 0-0 Italy
What a chance for England!
Mount flicks the ball to Sterling on the right.
The winger sets it back to the Chelsea man who makes a run into the box, but his final shot hits the crossbar!
Credit: AFP -
5. England 0-0 Italy
Chance for England!
A poor pass from Donnarumma falls straight to Abraham who attempts to strike, but his effort is off-target.
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4. England 0-0 Italy
Mount strikes from the edge of the box, but his effort falls into the hands of Donnarumma.
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2. England 0-0 Italy
England’s defence is carved open with a fantastic pass from Tonali through to Frattesi, but the midfielder’s effort runs narrowly wide.
What a chance for the Italians!
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