Italy vs England match preview: Team news, head-to-head, lineups, and predictions

Italy team news

Italy Starting XI

Gianluigi Donnarumma; Leonardo Spinazzola, Francesco Acerbi, Rafael Toloi, Giovanni Di Lorenzo; Marco Verratti, Jorginho, Nicolo Barella; Lorenzo Pellegrini, Mateo Retegui, Domenico Berardi

Recent form

Italy topped their group in the Nations League and booked their place in the final four of the competition. Having missed out on a ticket to the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, they played two friendlies during that period. In the first of the two friendlies, Vincenzo Grifo's brace helped Italy pick up a 3-1 win over Albania. In the second match, they lost 0-2 to Austria in November, 2022 and that was the team's last outing.

Key players

Italy will have Arsenal midfielder Jorginho looking to control the tempo in the centre of midfield against England. Following his transfer from Chelsea in January, the midfielder has made 11 appearances for the Premier League title favourites and will be high in confidence during international duty.

Injuries & suspensions

Mancini's team will be without Federico Chiesa, left-back Federico Dimarco and goalkeeper Ivan Provedel who are not part of the camp due to injuries. Mancini has instead called up four uncapped players to the squad - Marco Carnesecchi, Wladimiro Falcone, Alessandro Buongiorno and Mateo Retegui.

Tactical approach

Italy will need to start on a winning note in their defence of the European championship. They ended England's hopes of 'football coming home' by beating them on penalties in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley. As always, Mancini's team will be expected to be solid at the back without being boring and then find gaps in the final third in transition.

England team news

England Starting XI

Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Harry Maguire; Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips, Jude Bellingham; Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Jack Grealish

Recent form

England's last outing was in the 2022 World Cup where they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage with a defeat at the hands of France. Prior to that, they had gone five games without a defeat. Their previous loss, prior to the World Cup, was at the hands of Italy in the Nations League when Giacomo Raspadori grabbed the match-winner.

Key players

Harry Kane is just one goal away from becoming his country's all-time leading goalscorer, surpassing Wayne Rooney's tally of 53 goals. He has been excellent for Tottenham as well, with 21 goals this season and will be the one to keep an eye on for the Italian defence.

Injuries & suspensions

Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and Nick Pope have pulled out from the England camp due to injuries and will play no part in the Euro 2024 qualification round opener.

Tactical approach

Southgate's been trusted to take England back to the top despite a lack of silverware in recent years. With plenty of attacking talent at his disposal, England will be expected to take the game to their opponents and control the game against Italy, with Kane at the forefront of the attacking line.

Head-to-head record

With four draws (in normal time) out of the last five meetings, games between these two teams have been hard-fought battles. England have not been able to beat Italy since a friendly win 2012 whereas Italy beat the Three Lions in both the Euro 2020 final and also the Nations League.

Venue, date & kick-off time

The Euro 2024 qualifier between Italy and England will be played at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Thursday, March 23. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7.45pm GMT (3.45pm EDT).

Match predictions & expected outcome

Both England and Italy have a point to prove to their fans. Moreover, England are badly in need of a victory against Italy due to a head-to-head record that has seen them hand the Three Lions two painful defeats - in the Euro 2020 final and in the Nations League which ultimately condemned them to relegation from the top tier. It should be a tight match once again, but with England emerging as the winner at the end of the game.

Key battles to watch out for

Kane will be looking to score his 54th goal for England and surpass Rooney to become the nation's all-time top scorer. However, Italian centre-back Leonardo Bonucci will be hoping to keep the Tottenham striker in check and that attack vs defence battle will be a fascinating one to watch on Thursday.

Potential game changers

Bukayo Saka has 12 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League this season. England will hope he can carry his incredible domestic form over to the international stage. The Arsenal man can act as the key to unlock the Italian defence and both score and also assist.

• England have failed to win against Italy in their last six fixtures - their last victory against the Italians came in 2012.
• The Three Lions will depend on Kane who will be looking to score his 54th goal and surpass Rooney to become the country's all-time top scorer.
• Mancini will want to start Italy's EURO championship defence on a winning note despite missing players due to injuries

• Italy team page

• England team page

• Live football on TV in the UK

• Live soccer on TV in the U.S.

• Where to watch England's EURO 2024 qualifiers

• Mancini takes a dig at England boss Southgate

• Italy vs England: Where to watch the match online, live stream, TV channels & kick-off time