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England beat Italy 2-1 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples Thursday as Gareth Southgate’s side scored twice in the first half with Declan Rice and Harry Kane finding the net. Italian talent Mateo Retegui, born in Argentina, scored the only goal for the home side in the second half of his debut with the Azzurri jersey. The home team paid tribute to Gianluca Vialli before the match started as it was the first game after his passing last January. England won the first game of the 2024 Euro qualifiers in what is definitely the most difficult game of the group stage while Italy started off with a defeat but will play again this Sunday against Malta where they should rebound.
Here’s what to know:
Italian talents still have to shine
Roberto Mancini’s new cycle has just started but the road is still a long one. The Italian national team, under the former Manchester City coach, experienced two different phases since he was appointed in 2018. The first thee years were really successful in the qualifiers and culminated with the historical win at the Euros in the final against England at Wembley. Mancini counted on the veterans with some new faces such as Nicolò Barella, Federico Chiesa and Leonardo Spinazzola that were among the best players of the tournament. However, things went downhill and Italy didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup after losing against North Macedonia in the playoffs.
Mancini decided to stay in charge and didn’t leave despite rumors. The manager started a brand new cycle and called some really young players into the squad. He already did it with Nicolò Zaniolo when he called him in before he made his Serie A debut back in…
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