England captain Harry Kane scored a brace, and Marcus Rashford also scored, as England rallied from behind to upset title holders Italy 3-1 in a Group C qualifier at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday. It was the first time England had won successive games against Italy since 1949 earlier they were defeated 2-1 in Naples in March. England defeated Italy at home for the first time since 1977. The visitors startled the home crowd in the 15th minute when Gianluca Scamacca swept in a cross from Giovanni di Lorenzo against the run of play.
England, who lost on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 final at the same venue in 2021, leveled in the 32nd minute when Jude Bellingham sprinted into the area and was brought down by a late Di Lorenzo challenge. After a lengthy VAR review, captain Kane calmly stepped up and tapped home, sending Gianluigi Donnarumma diving the wrong way. In the 57th minute, Rashford made it 2-1 with a powerful shot into the lowest corner after Real Madrid forward Bellingham set him up.
Kane then scored his second goal of the night in the 77th minute, dribbling past players to score as manager Gareth Southgate punched the air in delight as his team qualified unbeaten and with 16 points from six games. Kane, the 30-year-old striker now has 24 goals at Wembley, one more than 1966 World Cup champion Bobby Charlton.
The result left Luciano Spalletti’s Italy with 10 points and a duel with Ukraine for the group’s second qualifying spot. England, who needed only a draw to qualify for the championships in Germany, started with a completely different lineup than the one that beat Australia 1-0 in a friendly at Wembley on Friday.
The change was immediate, with neat passing and Bellingham pushing midfield, although Italy remained dangerous on the break. Despite his lack of game time at Manchester City, Southgate gave Kalvin Phillips his first England start since March, in a midfield three with Bellingham and Declan Rice. On Friday, Jordan Henderson, the starting captain, came off the bench.
Qualifying is never easy. Sometimes we are just expected to go to the big tournaments but we have seen in the past it is not as easy as it looks. We stayed calm and knew we could get the winner and we have done it, Kane said after the victory.
