HARRY KANE broke England’s all-time goalscoring record as the Three Lions defeated Italy 2-1.
Kane became England’s RECORD scorer with his 54th Three Lions goal from the penalty spot after Declan Rice’s opener.
Though Italy fought back in the second half of the Euro 2024 qualifier in Naples with debutant Mateo Retegui scoring before Luke Shaw was sent off for England after two yellow cards in just 54 SECONDS.
- Result: Italy 1 England 2
- Italy XI: Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Acerbi, Toloi, Spinazzola, Barella, Jorginho, Veratti, Berardi, Retegui, Pellegrini.
- England XI: Pickford, Walker, Maguire, Stones, Shaw, Rice, Bellingham, Phillips, Saka, Kane, Grealish
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That’s all for tonight
Thank you for joining our live blog tonight for England’s brilliant win over Italy.
The Three Lions will be back in action on Sunday as they face Ukraine at Wembley Stadium.
Kane on Southgate hug after game
He told a press conference: “He (Southgate) said to me that he was extremely proud of me and that I deserved it.
“So a big thanks to Gareth.
“My England journey started with Roy Hodgson but Gareth has been a huge part since 2018 and we have had some really good times.
“I feel like we are really growing as a team. We haven’t quite achieved what we have wanted to achieve yet, but I think tonight has been a big statement.”
‘Maguire at fault’
Robinson has also identified Harry Maguire as the man at fault for Italy’s goal.
But he does think that the Three Lions should get a lot of praise for winning the match.
He said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “England can take a lot of credit from this tonight.
“We know Harry Maguire made the mistake that led to the goal but Gareth Southgate is a very positive manager and he’ll be keen to focus on that.”
‘CHECK REF’S NOTEBOOK!’
Fans are convinced Kyle Walker was booked TWICE – but the defender stayed on as ten-man England beat Italy.
Baffled viewers posted “you couldn’t make it up” after believing Walker picked up yellow cards in the 53rd and 71st minutes.
Betting sites and even the BBC briefly recorded the right-back as picking up two cautions as the Euro 2024 qualifier heated up.
But it appears the first one could have been mistakenly announced – as fans were stunned when he remained on the field after a later booking for time-wasting.
Read the full story here.
‘Italy in second rebuild’
Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has spoken about Italy following their defeat to England.
He argued that manager Roberto Mancini is trying to rebuild the side for a second time.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “This is the second major rebuild for Roberto Mancini. He’s picked a squad of 30 players and we saw the goalscorer Retegui come in.
“Wilfried Gnonto of Leeds looked good when he came on too.
“Mancini is looking to find a balance and rebuild again. They look like a team in transition but as we saw tonight, they can still hurt teams.”
It’s coming home?
Gary Lineker has already suggested that England will be favourites to win the Euros in Germany next year.
He tweeted: “Great goal from Rice and the perfect start for England.
“Hard to see us not winning the Euros now.”
Credit: Twitter – @GaryLineker HEARTS OF LIONS
Declan Rice was England’s man of the match, not so much for his opening goal but for his consistently high standards in a real game of two halves.
In the first, England played arguably their best football against a major footballing nation since they beat Spain 3-2 in Seville in October 2018.
In the second, the familiar failings of not keeping possession and inviting opponents on to them almost cost them dear.
You can read SunSport’s player ratings of the England team from the match here.
Credit: Getty Match report
Read the full match report of England’s famous win over Italy right here.
It is also the Three Lions’ first competitive win over the Italians in 45 years.
Credit: Reuters Gerrard on ‘special’ moment for Kane
He told Channel 4: “It’s special for him [Harry Kane] and his family, especially after the world cup heart-break.
“I’m so pleased for him and all the plaudits that will come his way.
“He is an all-round class act.”
Kane on overtaking Rooney
He said to Channel 4: “I was on the pitch when Wayne broke the record and know what it meant to him and how proud I was.
“When I presented him the boot for breaking the record he said to me that he’d be giving it back to you one day.
“He’s a special guy, and an England legend.”
Credit: Getty Images – Getty England’s Euros schedule
Following the win tonight, this is what England’s schedule looks like:
- Mar 26, 2023 – England vs Ukraine
- Jun 16, 2023 – Malta vs England
- Jun 19, 2023 – England vs North Macedonia
- Sep 9, 2023 – Ukraine vs England
- Oct 17, 2023 – England vs Italy
- Nov 17, 2023 – England vs Malta
- Nov 20, 2023 – North Macedonia vs England
Rooney on Kane’s achievement
The former holder of the record has taken to social media to praise Kane.
He tweeted: “Congratulations to @HKane on becoming @England ’s all-time leading goalscorer. I knew it wouldn’t take long but that was quick 🤣.
“Great man, unbelievable goalscorer and an England legend. Congrats Harry 👏👏👏.”
Credit: Twitter – @WayneRooney Kane on breaking record
England’s leading goalscorer told Channel 4: “It means everything.
“So excited to get back and put the England shirt back on.
“It had to be a penalty of course, and once it hit the back of the net, there was so much emotion. It was a magical moment.
“We haven’t won in Italy in so long, so to score and win made it very special.”
Credit: Getty FT scores in Europe
Group C
Italy 0 England 2
North Macedonia 2 Malta 1
Group H
Kazakhstan 1 Slovenia 2
Denmark 3 Finland 1
San Marino 0 Northern Ireland 2
Group J
Portugal 4 Liechtenstein 0
Slovakia 0 Luxembourg 0
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 Iceland 0
‘Hard work’
Robert Green has hailed England’s win but insisted that the second-half performance left a lot to be desired.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “What a win for England. They made hard work of it. They were in complete control but didn’t perform in the second half.
“They were clinging on after the red card but managed to get through it.
“There were some really good individual performances in the first half but the players disappeared in the second.”
Milestone for Southgate
The win is Southgate’s 50th as England manager and gives his side the perfect start to their Euro 2024 qualification campaign.
Credit: AFP FT Italy 1 England 2
90+5mins: Rice clears from another Italy attack and the referee blows the full-time whistle.
England wins their first game in Italy since 1961.
Italy 1 England 2
90+3 mins: England are standing firm as Italy pile on the pressure.
Some half-hearted claims for a penalty as Di Lorenzo goes down in the box, but the referee says play on.
Italy 1 England 2
90+1 mins: Acerbi is booked for a late challenge on Kane.
Italy 1 England 2
90 mins: Five minutes added on for England’s ten men to see out the game.
Italy 1 England 2
88 mins: Italy claim for a penalty for handball but the referee gives another corner.
England manage to clear from the second corner, but Italy come back again as we approach the 90 minute mark.
Italy 1 England 2
87 mins: Italy win a corner after Gallagher blocks a cross.
Scamacca is now on in place of Veratti.
Italy 1 England 2
85 mins: Gallagher straight into the action as he wins a freekick to take some of the pressure off.
Meanwhile West Ham’s Scamacca is warming up for Italy as Mancini prepares to make another attacking change.
Italy 1 England 2
84 mins: More changes for England.
Saka and Bellingham are off for Gallagher and James.
Bellingham looks to be in a bit of pain as he makes his exit from the pitch.
Italy 1 England 2
83 mins: England have a moment going forward but Bellingham is unable to pick out Saka.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
