After a shock 1-0 defeat in Hungary and a 1-1 draw in Germany on Tuesday, the Three Lions continued their preparations for the World Cup against European champions Roberto Mancini at Molineux. The atmosphere around this Nations League match could not be more different from the Euro 2020 final at Wembley 11 months ago, when the turmoil of the audience aggravated the anguished defeat of England in the penalty shootout by Italy. This fan disturbance meant that Saturday’s reunion had to take place behind closed doors, in addition to the 2,000 children who attended. There were just seven key players in the squad for the Euro 2020 final, as Southgate tested their regional players before a winter World Cup that Italy would miss, allowing Mancini to focus fully on rebuilding them.
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Mason Mount hit the crossbar early and Aaron Ramsdale denied Sandro Tonali in an open first half that opened the scoring for a second period disrupted by substitution. Stand-in skipper Raheem Sterling missed the home side’s best opportunity of the match as he attempted to cross the post from a few meters away.
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Analysis on another disappointing night
One of England’s first games in the Nations League was played behind closed doors, against Croatia in Rijeka in October 2018. The hosts were then punished – indescribably – for marking the swastika on their pitch during a World Cup qualifier against Italy, and when the game ended in a goalless draw, the general consensus was that it was impossible, perhaps unfair, to draw absolutely no conclusions from a fight played out in such novel, eerie places, a chance to pack things up and move on. The events of recent years mean that, unfortunately, we have all had a lot of training now, and as one of only four games left before the start of the FA Cup with Iran in November, this meeting with Italy was not something that Gareth Southgate could write. away from. Click here for the full analysis of Malik Ouzia The FA through Getty Images1654981922
Southgate insists England is not too negative
“I do not understand how you could say so carefully. We tried to transfer the ball to a very well organized team. We got the ball to our attacking players. “Right now there is not much clarity in the last third, but I am happy with the performance. “I said earlier this week that we relied heavily on Harry [Kane] and Rahim [Sterling] for our goals. Other players must enter this area. Many do it for their clubs, but internationally they have not been able to convert it. “We looked dangerous without scoring the goals we needed in some games.” 1654981605
Gareth Southgate is facing a lack of home fans
“As a general show, I was happy with it. There were a lot of positive individual appearances from players we had to see and we went and did well. “You can not ignore the fact that when you are really pushing, we did not have a crowd to help you or to push the opposition. That made a huge difference. “ 1654981101
Mason Mount’s reaction after the match
“It is frustrating, we want to win, create opportunities and score. I probably should have done better with my opportunities, we had some other opportunities and it’s something we have to see. We keep the leaves clean, so that’s a good thing, but we have to work on it. “I was in role 10, so it gave me the freedom to wander around and find places, connecting the midfield with the attacking boys. I was in places to shoot, but I did not do well enough from my shot, but it was very easy for the goalkeeper. It’s hard to bear because I think we could do more. “We want to win every game, even if it is a friendly. We watched the last two games, we felt confident about what we are doing, but it is difficult “. 1654980402
England player ratings
Aaron Ramsdale 8 He made two big saves in the first half, first to repel Sandro Tonali and then to block Matteo Pessina. He seemed calm all night, with his distribution also impressive. Reese James 8 He played a great game in the right back, creating problems whenever he came out in front of the cover. He chose Grealish and Sterling with two great crosses, but the opportunities were lost. Click here for Simon Collings’s full look at the England team AFP via Getty Images1654980147
It is not easy to leave Molineux!
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FT: England 0-0 Italy
Nothing comes out and that will be it. The full-time whistle goes to Molineux. The goalless draw leaves England in last place in their group in the Nations League, two points and no win. Hungary will come to Molineux on Tuesday before the players can finally go on holiday. 1654979661 90 + 2 minutes: Great opportunity for England to take a break, so much space for Bowen. Tonali returns and trips him, foul again for England. Not a great location, fair exit and quite central. 1654979560 90 + 1 minutes: Tripier fouls Di Lorenzo and England have a chance to hit something in the big area. Time for this delivery from Ward-Prowse! Three minutes were added. The defenders are standing. Decent ball inside, with a header in a corner. Ward-Prowse will get that too. Phillips pushes his man to the crossbar, foul. So unnecessary.
