Italy vs England Preview

England and Italy will renew their rivalry this Thursday when both sides meet at Naples for the first round of the 2024 European Championship.

The hosts defeated the Three Lions a  little under two years ago in the finals of this competition and will be desperate to inflict another loss on their rivals in this fixture.

Both European heavyweights have been widely tipped to take Group C’s top-two spots. Still, with the psychological advantage of a six-game unbeaten run against England (W3, D3), Italy may fancy they can stamp some early authority on top-spot.

The European Championship holders have a good history in Euro qualifiers too as they are unbeaten in their last 42 qualifier games (W34, D6), winning the last 14 of those. They will therefore enter this game full of confidence and belief.

England are looking to rebuild after a disappointing end to their World Cup dream in Qatar which came after a disappointing Nations League relegation.

This has become a make-or-break qualifier for under-fire manager Gareth Southgate. The England manager is facing criticism from a good section of the fan base and he would like to hit the ground running to ensure that any speculation regarding his immediate future is arrested early.

Southgate appears to have his work cut out to secure a win here given that England’s last away win against Italy came in 1961.