England vs Italy is one of the most storied fixtures in international football, rich in history and incident, ranging from ‘the Battle of Highbury’ in 1934 when England beat the world champions, to arguably England’s greatest performance, the Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen, Tommy Lawton, Wilf Mannion and Tom Finney inspired 4-0 victory over the still world champion Italians in 1948.
More recently the two have met in countless World Cup qualifiers and Euro knockout matches, most notably the ‘firework up the fundament’ debacle of the 2020 final at Wembley when many fans shamed the nation and England lost on penalties.
Overall, England have won only nine of 31 matches, losing 13, one of their worst records in international football.
Their latest match is England’s sixth in Euro 2024 qualifying group C, which they lead by six points with three matches to play, having beaten Italy, then under the management of Roberto Mancini, 2-1 in Naples in the opening group game. England have won three and drawn one of their subsequent qualifiers, Italy have one draw and two victories plus Saturday’s game in hand against Malta at Bari on Saturday night which should enable them to close the gap to three points before kick-off.
Jordan Henderson, meanwhile, has been backed by his England team-mates for his character and leadership after fans targeted him with jeers at Wembley during Friday night’s win over Australia following his move to Saudi Arabia last summer. Read more here.
When is it?
The match is on Tuesday, October 17 and kicks off at 7.45pm (BST).
Where is the match taking place?
Gareth Southgate’s side host Italy at Wembley, the national stadium.
What TV channel is it on?
The match will be broadcast exclusively in the UK on Channel 4. Radio 5 Live will provide radio coverage and you can also follow the match here on our Telegraph Sport live blog.
How do I get tickets?
You can’t. It is sold out on all official outlets.
England’s squad to face Italy
England have no specialist left-backs after Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell were ruled out by injury and Bukayo Saka has pulled out of the England friendly against Australia on Friday night and this match against Italy after pulling his hamstring. Gareth Southgate has not called up a replacement.
**Goalkeepers ** Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
**Defenders **Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
**Midfielders ** Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal)
**Forwards **Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) , Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
Italy’s squad to face England
Italy have a new manager following Mancini’s decision to resign in order to take up a multi-million pound offer to coach the Saudi Arabia national team. ‘Mancio’, the Euro 2020-winner, has replaced by Luciano Spalletti who led Napoli to the Serie A title last May and this will be his third competitive match in charge of the Azzurri, having presided over the draw with Macedonia and victory over Ukraine in September.
The 64-year-old signed a three-year contract and named the following squad, shorn by injury of Leeds United’s Wilfried Gnonto. Spurs’ impressive left-back, Destiny Udogie, has earned his first call-up:
Goalkeepers Gianluigi Donnarumma (captain, Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham).
Defenders Francesco Acerbi (Inter), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham).
Midfielders Nicolo Barella (Inter), Giacomo Bonaventura (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle).
Forwards Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Moise Kean (Juventus), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolo Zaniolo (Aston Villa) , Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma).
What is the latest news?
Henderson, 33, has been criticised for moving to a country where homosexuality is illegal despite being a vocal ally for LGBTQ+ rights during his time as Liverpool captain. In his first match back on home soil he was named captain for the friendly win against Australia but was booed when he was substituted just after the hour mark.
Southgate insisted he could not understand the reaction and Trippier, who took the armband on Friday night, says Henderson is committed to England and is an important part of the squad heading into next summer’s European Championship finals.
Henderson, who has denied being paid the equivalent of £700,000 per week with Al-Ettifaq, has stated his move was for footballing reasons.
“How many caps? It is nearly 80 caps that he’s represented England. For me, I see him on a daily basis, he is an unbelievable character, he’s a leader, what he does for the team, playing or not playing,” said Trippier.
“I didn’t even recognise the reception because I’m focused on my job for the team, to cross the line and win. But for me Hendo is a great leader, an unbelievable person to have in dressing room and I think 80 caps speaks for itself.
“On and off the pitch he’s a winner, the way he demands in training, the way he demands in games, in the dressing room before the game, he makes sure everyone trains properly, he sets standards and even myself at 33, when I look at it, I follow it. That’s what you need. Hendo has everything, he is a great captain. I need to say much about Hendo’s leadership.”
England fans have recently jeered Harry Maguire at Wembley during his period of poor form with Manchester United, despite his role in England reaching the Euro 2020 final and semi-final at the World Cup in 2018. Before Southgate’s reign, Raheem Sterling was the target for boos under Roy Hodgson.
“For us, as players, we stick together, that’s the most important thing. We know how important Harry is, Hendo, whoever it may be,” said Trippier.
“The most important thing is us as a team, the staff, Gareth, everybody involved, we stick together. Internally there are no problems, Everyone is calm and relaxed. It’s shown how much character Harry has, another leader, doesn’t let anything faze him. Whenever he plays, he plays with a smile on his face, and he’s an unbelievable person.”
Southgate has publicly supported his players when they have been on the end of jeers from supporters. When Maguire was targeted by Scotland fans, he launched a passionate defence of his centre-back.
The England manager also cited coverage of Maguire, pointing out that he was pictured going into training after United’s defeat to Galatasaray when he had not played in the Champions League game.
After the Australia win, Southgate said it “defies logic” that Henderson would be jeered by his own supporters, given his status in the squad as a role model and senior player. Trippier believes Henderson has been part of a squad that has shown progress since reaching the final of the Euros two years ago.
“After the Euros, you look at other nations like Italy who won the Euros, who find the groups tough,” Trippier said. “In our group there’s no easy games. Malta away, North Macedonia away, everyone expects us to win. But in football these things don’t happen, they’re tough games.
“It’s one more massive game on Tuesday. Every game, friendly or not, we want to win. We know it’s going to be a tough game, but we’re all ready. All we need to do now is to recover, listen to the manager about where we can do better, and go again Tuesday.”
Southgate gave his players a day off after the Australia win, imposing a 7pm curfew for players to get back to St George’s Park. The camp at England’s training base has seen players such as Bukayo Saka spend time with the squad even when ruled out through injury, which Trippier believes shows the team spirit heading into another major tournament. They could qualify this week against Italy.
“That says everything. All the players want to come and play for England. Players are injured but they still want to be involved and part of the group,” Trippier added.
“Ultimately, they go back to their clubs but they turn up. That says everything about the character of the group and the bond that we have. It comes down to Gareth, the way he has set everything up since I’ve been here. What he’s done since he took charge to now is unbelievable.”
