Italy 1-2 England

Good evening everyone, as England seek to make a positive start to their Euro 2024 qualification

Lets start with the lineups this evening

Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Acerbi, Toloi, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Berardi, Retegui, Pellegrini

England: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Phillips, Rice, Bellingham; Saka, Kane, Grealish

For me, it is Southgate's inclusion of Phillips which appears unusual. Having barely played all season for City, he still starts for England

It is an important game for England tonight. Although it is only the opening round of fixtures, bouncing back from the World Cup disappointment is key

And for Harry Kane, there is the potential tonight is a record-breaking night, as he could become England's outright all-time top scorer

For all of this England team, tonight has that extra dimension, following the Euro 2020 final

I feel tonight will be just as close as that final

The interesting dimension will be how fatigue impacts both sets of players, given how demanding this season has been

Italy are the favourites, but England will believe they have a good chance to get off the mark with three points tonight

Only 10 minutes away from kick off here at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona

And for those of you joining me in watching from England, the game tonight is on Channel 4!

We have just seen a very moving tribute to the late, great Gianluca Vialli

And now here come the players onto the pitch

National anthem time, before we get underway here

FIRST HALF BEGINS

Italy get us underway, with their fans currently bouncing up and down- not too sure why

1 min: A scrappy start here from both sides- England understandably nervous having not won in Italy since 1961

2 mins: Half chance for Italy from a free kick- not too sure what the marking was from England there

5 mins: England still yet to start here. In a space of about 20 seconds: Rice, Phillips and Saka all dispossessed

7 mins: better from England- good build-up play down the left, before Grealish lost the ball. Wants a foul, but never getting that

8 mins: decent chance for Saka there- Bellingham winning the ball high up the pitch, but not enough in the shot from Bukayo Saka

I already feel if England are going to win tonight, then this man is going to be play a big part

12 mins: England have grown into this game and Bellingham stings Donnarumma

13 mins: GOAL (Rice) Italy 0-1 England

From the resulting corner, the ball falls to Kane, whose shot is deflected, before Rice scrambles the ball home

England have been the better team since those opening five minutes and their fans are letting the Italians know it

16 mins: the confidence is oozing through this England team and Bellingham is causing Italy all sorts of problems

17 mins: this game is all England at the moment, Shaw this time getting a cross into the box, but lacks quality

19 mins: I feel if Italy want to get back into this game, they need to bring Verratti into the game and keep some possession

21 mins: still England creating the better chances- Bellingham almost getting on the end of Kane's cross to make it two

23 mins: Mancini needs a big half time already, they have been hugely disappointing

26 mins: Italy have had some controlled possession, but are not testing England at all

27 mins: great play from Declan Rice. Perfectly timed challenge on the edge of box to stop Barella taking a shot

29 mins: some Italian frustration- not sure how after making yet another foul. Having said that, Rice has just been booked for dissent

31 mins: England have been so composed on the ball- playing out with great confidence

32 mins: great strike by Phillips. From just outside the box he drags the ball wide, but that was close

35 mins: England continue to probe, Saka looking a constant danger

37 mins: Italy are starting to grow into this game and have more of the ball, but yet to really trouble Pickford or the England defence

39 mins: starting to see more evidence of this Italian improvement. Get bodies forward after Grealish loses the ball, but England quickly get men back and sniff out the danger

41 mins: England surround the referee adamant they should have a penalty for handball

We do have a VAR check for a handball by Di Lorenzo

I think this should be a penalty- not sure what Di Lorenzo is doing with his arm outstretched there

43 mins: Penalty for England

He looked at the monitor for a while, but seemed an obvious decision and England now have a chance to double their lead

44 mins: GOAL (Kane) Italy 0-2 England

He is now ENGLANDS ALL TIME RECORD GOALSCORER

Such a confident penalty, sends Donnarumma the wrong way and England lead by two in Naples

45+1: Should be three. What a chance for Jack Grealish. Kane plays the ball across the box and Grealish fluffs it

45+2: I said earlier that Mancini had a big half-time incoming, but it looks a long way back now. They have been very disappointing, even if England have been impressive

HALF TIME: Italy 0-2 England

England have been very impressive here in Naples, but the key point of the first half is Harry Kane breaking Rooney's goalscoring record

SECOND HALF BEGINS

50 mins: Italy have improved here, they are moving the ball quicker

51 mins: half chance for Italy with Pellegrini, but he lashes at it

54 mins: Italy dominating the possession at the start of this half and England have lost some of their composure from the opening half

56 mins: speculative effort from Retegui

56 mins: GOAL (Retegui) Italy 1-2 England

Well well well, I was just about to say what was he doing with shooting from 40 yards, but he has made up for it there

Great finish from the young man, slotted into the corner and Italy are back into it here

60 mins: England are still trying to push up the pitch, but are struggling. Kane this time wasting the ball

61 mins: watching Verratti is such a privilege. Great skill on the edge of box, before firing a shot into a crowd of bodies

64 mins: England are starting to get a little frustrated out there. Had three yellows and getting frustrated with the referee's decisions

66 mins: time to make a chance Gareth- this is not going to plan this half. Phillips looks very leggy in there

67 mins: Grealish could score so many goals if he took some risks. This time its Saka who puts a cross in, but no England player gambles

69 mins: we finally get that England change and Jack Grealish is withdrawn for Phil Foden. Meanwhile, Italy bring on Leeds teenager, Wilfried Gnonto

71 mins: not too much going on in the way of chances here. Both sides have been quite sloppy in this second half, but England will be happy as long as it remains 2-1

73 mins: mature from Harry Kane, so clever with the way he holds the ball and wins free kicks. Moments like that are needed if England want to secure the three points

75 mins: Southgate looks concerned from the sideline, but his side are doing well out there. Italy have been the better side this half, but still struggling to test Pickford

77 mins: Gnonto does really well on the left hand side. Puts a cross into the box, but Shaw is strong and holds off Politano at the back post. Great defending

79 mins: OOOOO Shaw could be in trouble here

Just minutes after picking up a yellow card, he makes another foul. Italy were 2 on 2 there

80 mins: RED CARD (Luke Shaw)

I am not surprised, he got himself in a bad position there Luke Shaw and England now have a very difficult last ten minutes

81 mins: Foden who only recently came on has been taken off for Trippier. Backs to the wall time for England now

83 mins: this is going to be a long 10 minutes for England. The whole team are getting behind the ball

84 mins: its pinball in the England penalty box, but Saka clears and England survive again. Time for Reece James- Gnonto has caused real problems since he came on

86 mins: Gallagher has been brought on as well- good change by Southgate

88 mins: it is all Italy here, but England are defending well

89 mins: still yet to feel this is relentless pressure from the Italians. For all their possession, still not really threatening Pickford's goal

90 mins: FIVE to play

90+2 mins: credit to England, they have been hugely impressive in seeing this game out. It has been a criticism throughout Southgate's reign, so these next three minutes are huge

90+3 mins: nearly over the line now England

90+4 mins: Pickford has the ball in his hands. Surely Italy only have one more chance now, with just over a minute remaining

90+5 mins: patient play from Italy, but still not troubling Pickford

Full time: Italy 1-2 England

A great victory for England. We truly saw both sides from them this evening. First half they were the better team and deserved to be ahead. Second half we saw the clever side to England in seeing the game out. From when they went down to 10-men, it never looked like Italy would score

England start the Euro 2024 qualification campaign with a win in their hardest qualifying match

A great night for Southgate and his men. A record-breaking one for the skipper, Harry Kane

Thank you for joining me on a landmark night for England. Qualification efforts continue on Sunday, hosting Ukraine at Wembley