Good afternoon everybody and welcome along to our MARCA in English UEFA Nations League live blog, wherein we'll be bringing you live updates as Italy take on England this Friday evening.
Italy and England have been evenly matched over their past few games. The two teams played to a goalless draw the last them they met in the UEFA Nations League, with that clash coming after the team from mainland Europe had prevailed over their rivals on penalties during the final of Euro 2020.
Currently paired together in League A Group 3, along with perennial powerhouses Germany, both England and Italy need a win as they currently make up third and fourth in the group, with England already aware that they can't reach the final stages.
Conversely, with one eye cast towards the World Cup, this could prove to be a big pre-tournament challenge for England, although their opponents won't be flying to Qatar.
Italy vs England - Live updates
Italy 1-0 England
Raspadori's goal separated the two sides in the end, with England being relegated to Nations League B as a result. The game wasn't a classic by any stretch, as both teams struggled in front of goal throughout.
Match ends, Italy 1, England 0.
Second Half ends, Italy 1, England 0.
Attempt missed. Jude Bellingham (England) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Reece James with a cross.
Foul by Reece James (England).
Wilfried Gnonto (Italy) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Raheem Sterling (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Tommaso Pobega (Italy).
Jack Grealish (England) is shown the yellow card.
Hand ball by Jack Grealish (England).
Attempt saved. Declan Rice (England) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Luke Shaw.
Attempt blocked. Wilfried Gnonto (Italy) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Manolo Gabbiadini.
Substitution, Italy. Emerson replaces Jorginho.
Substitution, Italy. Davide Frattesi replaces Federico Dimarco.
![England's Harry Maguire](https://e00-marca.uecdn.es/assets/multimedia/imagenes/2022/09/23/16639650867923.jpg)
Things doing look good for England. Italy hit the post, and defeat would mean five games without victory for Southgate's men, and that hasn't happened since 2014.
Attempt missed. Bryan Cristante (Italy) left footed shot from the centre of the box.
Jack Grealish (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Bryan Cristante (Italy).
Attempt saved. Manolo Gabbiadini (Italy) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jorginho with a through ball.
Attempt missed. Jude Bellingham (England) left footed shot from outside the box.
Jack Grealish (England) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Wilfried Gnonto (Italy).
Substitution, Italy. Manolo Gabbiadini replaces Giacomo Raspadori.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Italy) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Jack Grealish (England) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Italy).
![Italy's Giacomo Raspadori scores his side's opening goal](https://e00-marca.uecdn.es/assets/multimedia/imagenes/2022/09/23/16639645911894.jpg)
Jorginho (Italy) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jude Bellingham (England).
Attempt saved. Harry Kane (England) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved.
Attempt saved. Harry Kane (England) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jude Bellingham.
If England lose tonight they will be relegated from League A, and go into League B.
Foul by Eric Dier (England).
Wilfried Gnonto (Italy) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, England. Luke Shaw replaces Kyle Walker.
Substitution, England. Jack Grealish replaces Bukayo Saka.
Attempt missed. Eric Dier (England) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Reece James with a cross following a set piece situation.
Giacomo Raspadori opens the scoring in a game that very much needed it. Quality control to bring down the ball over the top, and as the England defenders failed to close him down, the Napoli forward rifled into the far corner.
Kyle Walker (England) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Tommaso Pobega (Italy).
Goal! Italy 1, England 0. Giacomo Raspadori (Italy) right footed shot from the left side of the box.
Jude Bellingham (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Bryan Cristante (Italy).
![England's Harry Kane (L) in action against Italy's Leonardo Bonucci](https://e00-marca.uecdn.es/assets/multimedia/imagenes/2022/09/23/16639637534566.jpg)
Corner, Italy. Conceded by Harry Kane.
Attempt blocked. Wilfried Gnonto (Italy) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Italy) header from a difficult angle on the right is blocked. Assisted by Giacomo Raspadori with a cross.
Former England defender Matt Upson on BBC Radio 5 Live: "Neither team has been fluid at all. I can't really say what is England's game plan is in possession and what we are trying to achieve and nor Italy either. Both teams are looking a little bit out of source."
Corner, Italy. Conceded by Nick Pope.
Foul by Declan Rice (England).
Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Italy) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution, Italy. Tommaso Pobega replaces Nicolò Barella.
Substitution, Italy. Wilfried Gnonto replaces Gianluca Scamacca.
Just four attempts on goal for Italy, and eight for England. Both sides have had one on target. Lots of bluster, but little end product.
Attempt missed. Eric Dier (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Jude Bellingham with a headed pass following a corner.
Corner, England. Conceded by Rafael Tolói.
Offside, England. Jude Bellingham tries a through ball, but Phil Foden is caught offside.
Jude Bellingham (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gianluca Scamacca (Italy).
Offside, Italy. Giacomo Raspadori tries a through ball, but Federico Dimarco is caught offside.
England are fashioning more chances in the second half, but the Foden, Kane and Sterling look to be on different wavelengths.
Corner, England. Conceded by Leonardo Bonucci.
Attempt blocked. Harry Kane (England) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Reece James (England) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right from a direct free kick.
Leonardo Bonucci (Italy) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Raheem Sterling (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Leonardo Bonucci (Italy).
Second Half begins Italy 0, England 0.
![England's Jude Bellingham (L) in action against Italy's Bryan Cristante (R)](https://e00-marca.uecdn.es/assets/multimedia/imagenes/2022/09/23/16639623456636.jpg)
Former Italy striker Alessandro del Piero to Channel 4: "We did very, very well in the first 15 minutes and created a couple of chances. When England came out, we pressed very well. Italy have to enjoy playing at home a little bit more. There is less pressure because we know we are not building towards the World Cup.
Italy 0-0 England
The Azzurri will be the happier of the two sides at the break. More of the ball, and more of it in better areas, but still Mancini's men lack a clinical frontman, which is even more apparent given Immobile's absence. England have been little threat at the San Siro.
First Half ends, Italy 0, England 0.
Rafael Tolói (Italy) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Declan Rice (England).
Jude Bellingham (England) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Italy).
![England's Jude Bellingham, left, duels for the ball with Italy's Bryan Cristante](https://e00-marca.uecdn.es/assets/multimedia/imagenes/2022/09/23/16639612978996.jpg)
Attempt missed. Harry Kane (England) right footed shot from outside the box.
Phil Foden (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Francesco Acerbi (Italy).
Attempt blocked. Bryan Cristante (Italy) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
England with a nice spell in the Italy half, though the Azzurri had numbers back as Reece James swung the ball into the box. Encouraging signs from Southgate's men.
Attempt saved. Jude Bellingham (England) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Corner, England. Conceded by Federico Dimarco.
Attempt missed. Eric Dier (England) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Reece James with a cross following a corner.
Corner, England. Conceded by Leonardo Bonucci.
Attempt blocked. Reece James (England) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Raheem Sterling (England) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Italy).
Raheem Sterling (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Rafael Tolói (Italy).
Italy are finding plenty of ways through the England defence, but some poor control from Giacomo Raspadori gives the away side the chance to clear the ball.
Corner, Italy. Conceded by Reece James.
Foul by Jude Bellingham (England).
Giacomo Raspadori (Italy) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Raheem Sterling (England).
Nicolò Barella (Italy) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Eric Dier (England).
Gianluca Scamacca (Italy) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Harry Kane (England) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Leonardo Bonucci (Italy).
Jude Bellingham (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Bryan Cristante (Italy).
Declan Rice (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Gianluca Scamacca (Italy).
Corner, Italy. Conceded by Harry Kane.
Italy with the better of the opening exchanges with Scamacca getting plenty of space in the England penalty area. Italy are pressing very high up the pitch and are winning plenty of loose balls.
Foul by Bukayo Saka (England).
Nicolò Barella (Italy) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Raheem Sterling (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jorginho (Italy).
Foul by Giacomo Raspadori (Italy).
Jude Bellingham (England) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Gianluca Scamacca (Italy) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Giacomo Raspadori.
Corner, Italy. Conceded by Harry Maguire.
Attempt saved. Gianluca Scamacca (Italy) header from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Federico Dimarco with a cross.
Attempt blocked. Giacomo Raspadori (Italy) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Bryan Cristante.
Offside, Italy. Leonardo Bonucci tries a through ball, but Giovanni Di Lorenzo is caught offside.
Phil Foden (England) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Bryan Cristante (Italy).
Foul by Declan Rice (England).
Nicolò Barella (Italy) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
First Half begins.
National anthems done and we are almost underway at the San Siro
England boss Gareth Southgate told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think subconsciously when you're winning you maybe don't reflect quite as deeply on why you are winning, or even some of the things that aren't quite right even though you are winning.
"When you lose like we did, then you reflect on everything and go really deep. That's not a bad process. I have been through a difficult run of results as a manager before and that's helpful because you know 'why'. If you didn't know 'why' poorer results happen, then that would be more of a concern."
England captain Harry Kane to BBC Radio 5 Live: "We want to bounce back and win games. Ideally, we would love to win both games and go into the World Cup full of confidence [and] on the up. I'm not going to panic too much if that's not the case.
"We have got a great team, we have had two great major tournaments in a row and ultimately that is what we are going to be judged on. We are going to use these two games to try and perform and to try implement the things we have been working on.
"Of course results are important to try and win the two games, but one way or another, ultimately it comes down to what we do in November."
Italy XI: Donnarumma - Toloi, Bonucci, Acerbi - Di Lorenzo, Barella, Jorginho, Cristante, Dimarco - Raspadori, Scamacca
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
England XI: Pope - Walker, Maguire, Dier, Reece James - Bellingham, Rice, Foden - Saka, Kane, Sterling.
In each of the last four games played between England and Italy, the score has been level after 90 minutes
Italy vs England predicted line-ups
Italy have been ravaged with injuries, with the likes of Lorenzo Pellegrini, Matteo Politano and Marco Verratti all sidelined. Davide Frattesi and Manolo Gabbiadini have been called up as replacements instead.
In the English camp, Kalvin Phillips is definitely out, with Jordan Henderson being recalled to the team. John Stones is out with a suspension while Jordan Pickford will also miss the match.
Italy's predicted starting XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Bonucci, Emerson; Barella, Tonali, Jorginho; Gnonto, Immobile, Grifo.
England's predicted starting XI (3-4-3): Ramsdale; James, Tomori, Maguire; Trippier, Rice, Bellingham, Chilwell; Sterling, Kane, Foden.
Italy vs England: When is it?
The match between Italy and England will kick off on Friday, September 23 at Milan's Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, starting at at 20.45 CEST local time. That is 17:45 BST for those in the UK, while it's a 14:45 ET start time on the USA east coast.
Italy vs England: Where can you watch the match?
Italy vs England will be shown live on Channel 4 in the UK, with viewers also given the option of streaming the game for free on Channel 4's streaming service All 4. In the USA, it can be watched via VIX.
Gareth Southgate goes over to applaud the travelling England fans, with boos audible from their third ring of the Stadio San Siro.