England drew 1-1 with Italy at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening following a VAR call that went in the visiting side's favour.
Lorenzo Insigne converted a late penalty that was awarded by the video assistant after James Tarkowski was adjudged to have challenged substitute Federico Chiesa.
The 87th-minute spot kick cancelled out Jamie Vardy's first-half opener, which he rifled past Gianluigi Donnarumma to seemingly put the Three Lions on their way to back-to-back wins.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the international friendly meeting between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium. The Three Lions head into this match on the back of a seven-game unbeaten run, most recently edging out the Netherlands 1-0 in Amsterdam on Friday night, while their opponents are winless in three and in desperate need of a lift.
Unlike England, Italy will not be heading to Russia this summer as they failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958. Now under the management of Luigi di Biagio, at least for one more game, the Azzurri are attempting to build for what they hope will be a brighter future. Victory at Wembley this evening would be a good way to go about kickstarting this so-called new era.
ENGLAND TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Butland; Walker, Stones, Tarkowski; Trippier, Dier, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Young; Lingard, Sterling, Vardy
SUBS: Rose, Hart, Henderson, Maguire, Mawson, Livermore, Lallana, Cook, Dele, Rashford, Pickford, Pope, Welbeck
Starting with a look at the home team, manager Gareth Southgate has handed a senior international debut to James Tarkowski. The Burnley defender's impressive form in the top-flight this term sees him given the nod alongside Kyle Walker and John Stones for the second of these spring friendlies. That third centre-back appears to be the one up for grabs, with the likes of Alfie Mawson, Joe Gomes and Harry Maguire also knocking on the door.
Southgate has also handed a start to Jack Butland in goal, as he said he would shortly after the win in Amsterdam four days ago. If the left-hand centre-back spot is possibly still up for grabs, then that is certainly the case when it comes to settling on a first-choice keeper. Jordan Pickford has now impressed in back-to-back friendlies when selected, but some still feel that Butland is the better option - this will therefore be a huge audition for him.
There is also a start for Jamie Vardy through the middle, with Southgate being given a chance to look at a couple of different options in the absence of injured striker Harry Kane. There have even been suggestions that Vardy would be a better choice than Kane against certain opponents, so the Leicester City man will be keen to put in a big shift this evening. A reminder that Vardy did not touch the ball on a single occasion in his 22 minutes in the field against Netherlands!
Jack Wilshere likely would have started tonight but he, as well as Joe Gomes, has been forced to pull out through injury. Elsewhere, Jesse Lingard - the matchwinner in Amsterdam - and Raheem Sterling retain their spots in attack, while Ashley Young and Kieran Trippier are used in the wing-back slots. Central midfield is completed by a refreshed Eric Dier, alongside Liverpool man Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
ITALY TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Donnarumma; Zappacosta, Rugani, Bonucci, De Sciglio; Pellegrini, Jorginho, Parolo; Candreva, Insigne, Immobile
SUBS: Buffon, Perin, Florenzi, Darmian, Ferrari, Ogbonna, Verratti, Gagliardini, Cristante, Bonaventura, Belotti, Chiesa, Cutrone, Verdi
As expected, Biagio also rotates his side on the back of the 2-0 loss to Argentina in Manchester on Friday, albeit with the same formation being used. Gianluigi Donnarumma, the promising young goalkeeper who has been strongly linked with a move away from AC Milan over the past 12 months or so, comes in for the vastly experienced Gianluigi Buffon, who is expected to formally retire from both club and international duties in a couple of months' time.
Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne are once again used in a three-man attack, joined this evening by Antonio Candreva and not Federico Chiesa. Biagio also retains faith in Jorginho, Leonardo Bonucci, Daniele Rugani and Marco Parolo, but there is no place in central midfield for Marco Verratti, with Lorenzo Pellegrini instead being preferred. There is a start at full-back for Mattia De Sciglio, meanwhile, despite Matteo Darmian being widely expected to come back into the fold.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Antonio Candreva and Davide Zappacosta among those to come into the Italy side on the back of their 2-0 loss to Argentina, as caretaker boss Luigi di Biagio continues with his rotation policy. Gareth Southgate has also tinkered with his side by bringing in debutant James Tarkowski, while also handing starts to the likes of Jack Butland and Jamie Vardy at either end of the field.
This is England's final friendly before Southgate is tasked with naming his provisional 35-man squad for the World Cup. That should not be too hard a choice, though whittling that down to 23 players by June 4 will be a little tougher. That is the cut-off point for announcing the squad, coming two days after the Three Lions welcome Nigeria in their next match, but Southgate is likely to have settled on his final group well before then.
England head into this match occupying 16th place in the latest FIFA rankings, two places below their opponents. It is the Three Lions that will be heading to Russia a little over two months from now, though, and Southgate still has some big calls to make with regards to his preferred XI. As already touched upon, a first-choice goalkeeper needs to be selected as a priority, as well as a left-sided centre-back.
The 1-0 win over Netherlands last week was a positive result for Southgate's men, even if the Dutch are at a considerably lower standing on the international stage compared to a few years back. That result has been made to look all the more better by last night's 3-0 victory against Portugal for Ronald Koeman's charges, perhaps indicating that they are indeed on their way back on the up.
There is still plenty for Southgate to work on, particularly in the middle of the park where - despite some praise last time out - England continue to look a little too pedestrian. That will surely be loss of a problem tonight thanks to the inclusion of Oxlade-Chamberlain, who will be tasked with linking defence and attack alongside the versatile Eric Dier. There is also, of course, this over-reliance on star striker Harry Kane.
The Three Lions head into this match unbeaten in seven and have not conceded in each of their last five since a 2-1 win over Slovakia. At the opposite end of the pitch, though, they have scored just five in their last six - one of those coming via a Harry Kane penalty. In fact, a look at the goalscoring figures since the last World Cup says an awful lot:
- Wayne Rooney (13 goals)
- Harry Kane (12)
- Danny Welbeck (7)
- Jamie Vardy (6)
- Adam Lallana (3)
- Daniel Sturridge (3)
- Eric Dier (3)
Kane is undoubtedly England's best player, and is arguably the finest striker on the planet right now. The Tottenham Hotspur ace will lead the line for the Three Lions for their group-stage opener against Tunisia, but Southgate is now tasked with finding the right personnel to chip in with goals from elsewhere. For all the praise aimed at Raheem Sterling, his only two goals in 36 England caps came in quick succession three years ago.
Still, five wins and two draws from their last seven games is a positive return for England, including goalless draws against Germany and Brazil - match that in Russia and they could well be crowned world champions. Those two recent stalemates against the heavyweight nations both came here at Wembley, and now the Three Lions are aiming to avoid drawing three in a row on home soil for the first time in their history.
Southgate will be keen to get his side back to winning ways on home soil in front of a packed Wembley tonight, then, particularly with just two more games left to play ahead of the finals. Nigeria and Costa Rica are next up in early June, by which point the England boss is expected to have already settled on his final 23-man squad. All this, of course, is in preparation for June 18 when facing Tunisia in Volgograd.
Then comes a meeting with Panama in Novgorod and Belgium in Kaliningrad, with Southgate no doubt hoping that the latter of those fixtures in a shootout for top spot, rather than a battle to merely progress through. Should England better their finish of four years ago and actually make it to the knockouts, one of Poland, Senegal, Colombia and Japan await in the last 16. They should - should! - advance to the quarter-finals.
England have drawn their last two games at Wembley Stadium, against Brazil and Germany, 0-0 and are now aiming to avoid going three home games without netting for the first time since May 1981. The Three Lions have not shipped a goal in 537 minutes overall, and are seeking a sixth successive clean sheet for the first time since October 2006.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! These two sides have met on 26 previous occasions, with England winning eight and losing 11 of those since their first meeting in 1933. The Three Lions have tasted victory once in the last six encounters, though - a 2-1 friendly triumph in August 2012 - and they went down to Italy 2-1 in the most recent competitive fixture at the last World Cup.
Italy, ranked above England despite their failure to qualify for the World Cup, are hoping to use this match as the start of a new era. The Azzurri finished five points behind Spain and then went on to lose 1-0 to Sweden in a two-legged playoff in November. This after such a promising start that saw them win their first five matches and draw against Spain, before going down 3-0 to La Roja in the reverse fixture and failing to recover.
The Azzurri's record in qualifying was really not that bad, in truth, although the 1-0 loss to Sweden is a little more difficult to justify. Having failed to find a way through over the 180 minutes, Buffon was denied the dream sign-off that he was after and Gian Piero Ventura was inevitably sacked. Di Biagio is now in caretaker charge and is in contention to land the position full time, although he supposedly faces competition from a number of other candidates.
Alessandro Costacurta, the vice-commissioner of the Italian FA, revealed last week that Di Biagio will be considered for the job, so a positive result tonight could decide his fate in the long run. An announcement with regards to the next permanent manager of Italy will be made at the end of the season, and it is understood that Antonio Conte is currently the preferred candidate to take charge, two years after stepping down to take charge of Chelsea.
Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Mancini, Maurizio Sarri, Claudio Ranieri, Massimiliano Allegri and Vincenzo Montella are also rumoured to be in the mix, so Italy certainly not light on potential replacement options. The big question being, of course, whether any of those men will agree to take charge. The Azzurri hope to have the new man in place before friendlies against Saudi Arabia, France and the Netherlands in late May/ early June.
Since going down 1-0 to Sweden on aggregate, Italy have also lost 2-0 to Argentina to make it no wins in their last three overall, and just one in their last five. Despite their recent form, though, and indeed the failure to miss out on Russia 2018, England boss Gareth Southgate is not anticipating an easy test this evening.
"I'm not so sure they're in so much of a state as people think," he told the assembled press at Monday's press conference. "They're not at the World Cup because they were in Spain's group. OK, there's been some changes because that's the consequence of not qualifying but they've got good players.
"The coach that's in charge, I've coached against before and the Italian team detail is always good. They'll press us with more intensity than we got pressed the other night and it's a really good challenge for us to be able to play."
Southgate certainly has a point as, unlike the Netherlands who had a poor qualifying record and have now missed out on successive major tournaments, Italy simply came up against one of the toughest nations on the continent in Spain. The loss to Sweden was a little tougher to fathom, granted, but now they have a chance to show that this squad is capable of not only qualifying for Euro 2020 but indeed going all the way.
DID YOU KNOW? Italy have not played England at Wembley Stadium since 1997, when Gianfranco Zola scored in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win. The Three Lions' last home match against today's opponents came back in 2002, meanwhile, with Gareth Southgate and Luigi di Biagio both representing their nations in a 2-1 victory for the Azzurri at Elland Road.
Both sets of players are now on the field at Wembley and we are just a couple of minutes away from kickoff. A reminder that Jack Butland starts in goal for the hosts tonight, earning his seventh cap for his side - six years on from his first in a friendly against Italy. Ciro Immobile leads the line for the visitors, meanwhile, looking to build on a record that has seen him net 24 goals in 26 Serie A outings for Lazio this term.
KICKOFF! Following a well observed minute's applause for Davide Astori, Cyrille Regis and Jimmy Armfield, we are officially under way at Wembley Stadium. Italy, sporting their traditional blue strip, get the ball rolling.
CHANCE! A chance for Italy inside the early throes of the match, perhaps coming a little too soon into proceedings for Immobile. The forward latched on to Jorginho's ball over the top but could not bring it under control.
CHANCE! Stones has had a shocking start to the match. Stones, caught out by that early ball over the top, allowed Immobile to take the ball from his feet. Once again, though, the forward could not keep his composure and failed to so much as test Butland.
Within the first four minutes or so England could have found themselves a couple of goals behind. Stones twice the man at fault; Immobile twice unable to punish the errors. Up the other end, Tarkowski sends a looping header on to the roof of the net.
Having seen a replay of that second Immobile chance early on, it could so easily have been a penalty to Italy. Stones, desperate to make amends after being caught napping on the ball, tried his best to pull the Italy forward down.
CHANCE! A worrying start for England at Wembley but they have just about managed to settle down. A first chance for the hosts, started by Tarkowski's superb ball out from the back, but the Leicester man was denied when getting a shot away.
A lively start to the match to say the least, with Jamie Vardy and Ciro Immobile both failing to take presentable chances - two chances in the case of the latter. Italy are now looking to control the tempo of the match.
Trippier is now on the left and Young on the right. The Three Lions looking more solid now than in the opening five or six minutes, but they have still yet to truly find their rhythm, which perhaps explains Southgate's early tinkering.
CHANCE! How many chances does Serie A's leading scorer want?! Candreva with a near-perfect cross from the right, which Immobile nods over from just a few yards out. Poor from England, who are somehow still level at 0-0.
A hat-trick of chances being squandered by Immobile in the opening quarter of the match - a player basting 24 goals in 26 Serie A outings for Lazio this season. Just the one shot of any note for England, which saw Vardy denied inside the box.
PENALTY APPEAL! A rare England attack, culminating in Oxlade-Chamberlain powering into the box before being sent to the ground by Pellegrini. Was it worthy of a pen? They are so often given, but this referee is a little more lenient.
SAVE! England finally starting to grow into the match now, as Sterling slots the ball in behind for Vardy. A great run but not such a good finish, with Donnarumma keeping out the shot down low - pretty comfortable in the end.
SAVE! This has been an entertaining friendly thus far, even if we do not have any goals to show for it. Eric Dier has just met a corner kick with his head, sending the ball pretty much straight down the middle for Donnarumma to collect.
GOAL! ENGLAND 1-0 ITALY (JAMIE VARDY)
England have the breakthrough at Wembley through Jamie Vardy! The Leicester striker has wasted a couple of opportunities already tonight but this was a superb finish, blasting the ball past Donnarumma after being picked out by Lingard's quick free kick.
Looked for a moment as though the referee was going to rule out the Vardy goal. The confusion centered around the quick free kick, with replays confirming that the ball was stationary when Lingard knocked it into the path of Vardy for the one-on-one.
SHOT! Yet another half-chance for Immobile, who finds a gap in the England defence and curls a shot wide. Less than a minute later, Marco Parolo tries his luck with a shot that was always rising high over Butland's crossbar.
Incredibly, just 11 minutes of this first half remain. It has been a lively contest so far, with Italy wasting a number of presentable opportunities before Jamie Vardy took the third of his. Defensively, the Three Lions have looked poor.
Oxlade-Chamberlain gets to the byline down the right and lofts a nice little ball towards the back post, which leads to a corner. Young is the man to take it, finding Tarkowski who is denied from a header and then sees the follow-up shot block.
England's movement in the final third is very good, getting in behind pretty much whenever they attack. The problem has been up the other end, where they have looked shaky throughout. That said, they are closing in on a sixth successive shutout.
CLOSE! Yet another promising England move on the counter, with Sterling's ball finding Young. The shot took a deflection and ended inches wide of Donnarumma's far post, though replays suggest that the wing-back may well have been crossing the ball.
YELLOW CARD! Oxlade-Chamberlain is shown a yellow card for dissent after booting the ball away. That came after being left frustrated when a decision went against him when pulling back on Bonucci's shirt - seemed a fair call.
Half time now just moments away at Wembley, where England hold a one-goal advantage thanks to Jamie Vardy's powerful close-range strike. Italy boss Biagio will wonder quite how his side are behind, though, having squandered numerous chances.
HALF TIME: ENGLAND 1-0 ITALY
The referee blows for half time, bringing an end to what was an entertaining opening 45 minutes at Wembley Stadium. Both sides have had numerous chances, but just the one goal was scored as Jamie Vardy powered a shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma 26 minutes into the game.
Leading Serie A scorer Ciro Immobile wasted three chances inside the opening quarter of the match, including one with less than a minute played as he failed to adjust his feet when played in over the top by Jorginho. Immobile, with 24 goals in 26 league outings for Lazio this term, then caught John Stones napping but was unable to get a shot on target, before heading over Antonio Candreva's cross from close range.
Jamie Vardy was also guilty of squandering some presentable opportunities, firing straight at Gianluigi Donnarumma 25 minutes in after earlier having a shot blocked from a similar position. Unlike with Immobile, though, Vardy would redeem himself moments later when blasting the ball past the reach of Donnarumma following some quick thinking from Jesse Lingard, who knocked a free kick into his teammate's path before Italy's defence could find their shape.
The Azzurri almost responded immediately, with Immobile curling wide once finding yet more gaps in the England defence and Marco Parolo smashing an attempt of his own over the crossbar. Ashley Young saw an intended cross deflect inches wide of the target as England, scoreless in their last two Wembley friendlies, took a slender lead into the break. Here is a reminder of both sides' available subs...
ENGLAND SUBS: Rose, Hart, Henderson, Maguire, Mawson, Livermore, Lallana, Cook, Dele, Rashford, Pickford, Pope, Welbeck
ITALY SUBS: Buffon, Perin, Florenzi, Darmian, Ferrari, Ogbonna, Verratti, Gagliardini, Cristante, Bonaventura, Belotti, Chiesa, Cutrone, Verdi
RESTART! We are back up and running at Wembley Stadium, where neither manager has made any half-time changes. Plenty of chances at both ends in the first half, so let us hope for something similar over the next 45 minutes!
Ciro Immobile nearly latches on to another one of the those passes around the back, only for Jack Butland to get there first. Seems certain that there is a second goal in this contest - the question is which way will it go?
Walker sprays a pass out to Young, who could not quite pick out a teammate in return. If England can grab a second, Southgate will be delighted with the attacking performance of his side; concede, though, and questions will be asked of the backline.
BLOCK! Great block from Bonucci, who was also terrific here for Juventus against Spurs a few weeks back. Young given a chance to charge into the box, and his shot would have at the very least tested Donnarumma if not for the block.
ITALY SUB! Good play from Sterling to release Young for that earlier chance. Italy have just made the game's first alteration - Federico Chiesa coming on for his second cap, a few days on from his first, in place of Antonio Candreva.
SAVE! Good play from England once again here, with Sterling seemingly involved in every attacking move. Oxlade-Chamberlain worked a yard on the edge of the box to get a shot away, which Donnarumma was comfortably behind.
Italy have not really go going at all in this second half. England look as though they are about to make another couple of changes, as Southgate uses the final half an hour to check out some more of his squad players.
ENGLAND SUBS! Adam Lallana, who has not really been unable to build up any momentum this term, comes on for Oxlade-Chamberlain for the final 30 minutes. Rose replaces Trippier, meanwhile, so Young will switch flanks.
A disappointing corner is picked up by Lallana on the edge of the box, but his shot - if you can describe it as that - was collected by Donnarumma. The Three Lions looking far more comfortable now than in the opening half an hour of the game.
SAVE! England not afraid to get shots away this evening; Raheem Sterling the latest to do so from 25 yards, only managing to pick out Donnarumma. No doubt who the busier of the two goalkeepers has been at Wembley tonight.
ITALY SUB! Andrea Belotti has been brought on for Ciro Immobile, who will wonder how he has not added to his goalscoring tally. A change up top for the Italians, then, which Biagio will hope brings a change of fortune.
No real chances of not since the restart, with England instead mainly relying on shots from range. Sterling has just lifted half a chance over the crossbar, though, and the Three Lions look by far the more likely to add the game's second goal.
England have been in complete control of this second half but, with just the one goal in it, Italy will still fancy their chances of snatching a draw. Pellegrini has just cut through the Three Lions' midfield, though the move soon broke down.
ENGLAND SUB! A short stoppage in play now after Stones took the ball clean to the face - the stretcher has been sent on so quite worrying for the defender. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford and debutant Lewis Cook are on for Vardy and Lingard.
Four changes made by Southgate so far, while Di Biagio has made two. Walker has just been booked for bringing Pellegrini to the floor and, while England set up their wall for the free kick, Henderson has been brought on for Stones.
Jorginho curls the free kick over Butland's crossbar. Been a disappointing performance from Italy's perspective in this second half, having given England's backline so many problems early on in this international friendly clash.
Around 12 minutes left to play here and there remains just the one goal in it. England struggle to win by anything more than the odd goal these days, yet that clean sheet record - spanning nearly six matches - cannot be overlooked.
CLOSE! Lorenzo Insigne with a volleyed attempt that spins wide of Butland's target. A long ball over the top led to the chance, and just like that Italy could well have been on level terms. Gagliardini is now on for Pellegrini.
All of a sudden it is Italy who are in control of possession and looking far more lively when working the ball into advanced positions. In turn, though, England will be given plenty of gaps to break into at the other end.
YELLOW CARD! Ashley Young lands awkwardly when going in for a challenge. The Manchester United ace stays down, but rather than staying in the some spot he rolled over so that he was now back on the pitch, forcing the referee to halt play. A yellow card is awarded as a result.
VAR CALL! Chiesa using his fresh legs now by taking the ball past a few players and into the opposition box. Tarkowski appeared to step on the substitute's foot, and the referee has now gone over to check the pitchside monitor...
PENALTY TO ITALY! The referee has indeed awarded a penalty to Italy after Tarkowski stamped on Chiesa's boot inside the box. A tad harsh, and if not for VAR the debutant would have got away with that.
GOAL! ENGLAND 1-1 ITALY (LORENZO INSIGNE)
Insigne emphatically beats Butland from the penalty spot, sending the ball into the side of the net. A big call from the referee, eating up a few minutes of the game, and now England are chasing a goal with time fast running out here.
Five minutes have been added on at the end of the match so there is still time for England - or indeed Italy - to snatch a late winner. Young swings in a corner right into the middle of the box, but a player in blue got to it first.
England are knocking on the door late on here, winning a couple of corners but not being able to carve open their opponents. This will be seen as a disappointing result if the Three Lions fail to find a way through in the remaining seconds.
FULL TIME: ENGLAND 1-1 ITALY
No doubt what the big talking point is at the end of that game - the referee's decision to award a late penalty to Italy for James Tarkowski's challenge on Federico Chiesa. The debutant did make contact but the question is whether it was enough for the penalty to be awarded. Either way, Lorenzo Insigne converted from the spot and Italy leave Wembley with a 1-1 draw.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from the English capital. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while reaction will follow elsewhere on the site in due course. Thanks for joining!
