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England Claim First Away Win Over Italy Since 1961

England made the perfect start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign by beating Italy 2-1 in Naples. England had not won away against Italy since 1961.

Robert Summerscales

England Claim First Away Win Over Italy Since 1961
England Claim First Away Win Over Italy Since 1961 /

Italy 1-2 England

England made the perfect start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign by beating Italy in Naples on Thursday night.

The Three Lions had not won away against their Italian counterparts since 1961.

But first-half strikes from Declan Rice and Harry Kane fired England to a 2-1 victory, with Mateo Retegui netting a consolation goal on his Italy debut.

England had to play the final 10 minutes with ten men after Luke Shaw picked up two quickfire yellow cards and was sent off.

Harry Kane pictured celebrating after breaking the England scoring record in March 2023
Harry Kane scored as England beat Italy 2-1 in Naples :: IMAGO/PA Images/Adam Davy

Gareth Southgate's side began the game confidently and took a deserved lead in the 13th minute when Rice scored his third international goal.

Rice reacted quickest to pounce on a rebound after Leonardo Spinazzola had blocked a shot from Kane following a corner kick.

Kane then made history just before half-time by becoming England's all-time leading scorer.

The Tottenham striker moved clear of Wayne Rooney by netting his 54th international goal.

It came from the penalty spot after Giovanni Di Lorenzo had handled the ball under pressure from Kane.

Kane had missed his last spot-kick for England in a World Cup quarter-final against France in December.

But he made no mistake in Naples as he sent keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way to score.

England had dominated the first half, after bossing possession with 64%.

But Italy improved after the interval and got back into the game on 56 minutes when Lorenzo Pellegrini set up Retegui to score on his debut.

Retegui was born in Argentina and previously represented the South American nation at U20 level.

His goal got the home fans dreaming of a comeback but England held on for a famous victory, despite their late numerical disadvantage.

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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.

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