England are seeking revenge on their Italian counterpart who delivered a painful defeat in the European Cup final last summer when they hosted them at Molino Stadium (21:45 Beirut time today) in the third round of European Group C Nations League. . The match will take place behind closed doors in full view of the fans following the excitement that accompanied the Continental Final at Wembley Stadium in London last summer and ended in a 3-2 penalty shoot-out victory over the hosts. after a 1-1 draw with regulation and extra time. The balance tilted in favor of Italy to 28 against England, where they scored 12 losses to 8 and drew the same number. The last defeat of the four -time world champion from the “three lions” was also linked to his fall (1: 2) in a friendly against Switzerland in August 2012. World Cup 2014 in Brazil in the opening group match D with a score of 2-1.

The Three Lions entered a long -awaited showdown not only to avenge the opponent who ruined his continental dreams, but also to secure his first win in the third edition of the European Nations League after he started his career with a strong defeat. against Hungary (0: 1) before tying with a kick.Penalty from captain Harry Kane before Germany (1: 1) for dropping one point in their group rankings. Despite his humble start, coach Gareth Southgate has proven to be the right man in the right place. Since taking over the technical roles of the 1966 World Champion, he has led him to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and to the European Nations Final. Last year.

England are looking forward to their first victory in the third edition of the UEFA Nations League

Asked if a level of truthfulness was needed regarding the failure of four matches in 11 days, Southgate explained the importance of standing up for his beliefs, saying “I know what I want in these matches”, and added that “I also accept that he is with England. “. You will be judged and you have to win every game. ” Given the intensity of the matches, Southgate will make a lot of substitutions against Italy and next Tuesday in the second leg against Hungary, so he said: “You’ve seen the whole of Europe: France have made 10 substitutions, Spain has eight and Portugal has seven. ” He concluded: “This is a unique series of matches where teams are to some extent thinking about the health and freshness of the player, but they are also preparing for the World Cup, because they know very well that what to do and what not to. participate in friendly battles before competitions.
And while there are doubts about Calvin Phillips ’participation after he was removed from the field in Munich, Southgate is likely to release Jack Grealish from Manchester City, who spent his best 20 minutes in his country’s shirt against Germany after that get off the bench. It will also give Roma Italian striker Tammy Abraham a chance to rest before Harry Kane’s ‘effort’ to break Wayne Rooney’s historic record of 53 goals in 120 games from 2003 to 2018 after scoring his 50th goal against Manchaft in 71 international matches.
For its part, Italy are trying to regain their luster after dropping their level after winning the continental title as they failed to reach the World Cup final for the second consecutive time and lost the Finalicima match it put together against Argentina. , America’s Cup champion (0-3).

(AFP)

However, in the Nations League, the Azzurri performed differently, leading the Group of Death with 4 points after the draw with Germany (1: 1) and victory over Hungary (2: 1). Roberto Mancini has given new blood to the national team by replacing veteran players with others. Defender Leonardo Bonucci (35) and striker Andrea Belotti (28) were not included in the starting XI on Thursday.
The attacking line poses a dilemma for the Italian coach: after he chose not to call 32-year-old Ciro Immobile, four-time top scorer in the Italian league, the trio of Belotti, Gianluca Scamaca and Giacomo Rasbadori have failed hit the net in the past three games. And Mancini decided not to call Marco Verratti, Jorginho, Emerson Palmieri and Lorenzo Insigne earlier this month to rest.
At the same time, Hungary is playing against Germany.