UEFA Nations League: Italy beat England 1-0 at San Siro

The match between England and Italy in the Group C fixture of the UEFA Nations League ended with Italy winning 1-0. Italy went forward in the match with a stunner goal by Giacomo Raspadori in the 68th minute. 

The first half of the match was relatively lackluster with both teams failing to register a goal. Following Rasapadori’s goal, Gareth Southgate, the England manager, switched to a back-four from a back-three. 

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He substituted Bukayo Saka for Jack Grealish which allowed the team to play with four at the back. 

England came close to scoring several times but failed to do so eventually. The best chance for the Three Lions came in the 96th minute into the extra time but it failed to end up in the net. 

With this defeat, England will get relegated from the UEFA Nations League. They will be playing in the second tier in the upcoming season.  

England has one more match left in this year’s UEFA Nation’s league. They will be facing Germany on matchday 5 in the Nations League Group C fixture at Wembley on Tuesday, September 27, 12:15 AM IST.

With the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in less than three months’ time, England manager Gareth Southgate would have a task in hand. The defeat to Italy marked 495 minutes in open play without a goal for England- their worst run in 22 years. 

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Evening Standard journalist Dan Kilpatrick reported on Twitter that the English manager was booed by the away fans after the match. Concern for the English manager is clearly mounting. 

England has been placed in Group B in the FIFA World Cup along with Wales, USA, and Iran. They will have to produce strong performances in November to make it out of the group.