At 3:45 a.m. Beijing time on March 24, Group C of the first round of Euro 2024 qualifiers ushered in a strong dialogue, with European Cup champions Italy sitting at the Maradona Stadium in Naples to face European Cup runner-up England. In the first half, Rice broke the deadlock, and then Kane hit a penalty to surpass Wayne Rooney with 54 goals to win England's all-time top scorer; In the second half, Retegui pulled one back and Luke Shaw was sent off for consecutive yellow cards. In the end, the 10-man England beat Italy 2-1 away to avenge the European Cup final loss.
Italy won the last European Championship, but they failed to reach the World Cup in Qatar. In the European Championship qualifiers, Italy and England were drawn in the same group, and the two teams had a strong dialogue in the first round, which was also a repeat of the last European Championship final.
In the 8th minute, Bellingham snatched the ball in front and Saka won a low shot into the box and Donnarumma held the ball. In the 12th minute, Bellingham drove the ball forward from the right side of the pitch and fired a long-range shot, and Donnarumma lifted the ball off the crossbar with his fingertips.
In the 13th minute, Saka drove England's right-hand corner into the box, which was missed by either team in the middle, Kane's stop-ball volley was blocked at the back post, and Rice scored the ball with his left foot, giving England a 1-0 lead over Italy.
In the 21st minute, Kane dribbled the ball into the box from the right and crossed over, and Bellingham, who was outflanked in the middle, was a little slower and failed to form a shot. In the 32nd minute, Jorginho received the ball unsteadily and was tackled by Bellingham, after which Calvin Phillips took a long-range shot that was slightly deflected.
In the 39th minute, Retegui's shot from the box was blocked, and Spinazzola on the left picked it up and the ball deflected off the upright. In the 44th minute, it was Saka who drove the right corner into the box, and Di Lorenzo, who was defending Kane at the back point, stretched out his arm to fight for the top, the ball was in his hand, and the referee went to the sidelines to watch the VAR and awarded England a penalty.
The penalty was headed by Kane, who pushed right-footed into the right side of the goal to trick Donnarumma into scoring the ball to give England a 2-0 lead over Italy. The penalty was Kane's 54th for the national team, surpassing Wayne Rooney's title as the team's all-time top scorer.
In the 45+1st minute, England had another great chance, Saka broke through from the right and went straight through, Kane crossed in front of the right edge of the box, and Grealish at the back point was actually deflected against an empty goal. At the end of the first half, England led by two goals.
In the second half, Verratti sent a diagonal plug in front and Pellegrini in the box deflected a left-footed volley. In the 56th minute, Maguire's backfield was broken, Italy counterattacked, Pellegrini at the top of the arc received the ball to the right, and Retegui, who made his national debut, scored the first goal in his debut, Italy trailed England 1-2.
In the 80th minute, Luke Shaw dragged his way out of bounds and received his first yellow card. Shortly thereafter, he received a second yellow card for a foul tackle and was sent off in a short period of time, leaving England with one less man to play.
In the end, the match was over, and England won 2-1 away to Italy.