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| Italy v England: international friendly – live! | Italy v England: international friendly – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 7.59pm BST19:59 | |
| 14 min: England now put together a patient move on the edge of the Italian box but Clyne’s pass for Kane is not well aimed and Chiellini is in sharply again – and this time cleanly. | |
| 7.58pm BST19:58 | |
| 12 min: Gibbs punts one in the vague direction of Kane but out of play. England haven’t really got started yet, it’s fair to say, although they do nearly spook Buffon into an error as he delays a clearance under pressure from Kane. | |
| 7.56pm BST19:56 | |
| 11 min: Parolo lets fly now and that’s the first shot of the game! A decent 25-yarder – Delph could have pressured him better – and Hart has to turn it over. He then punches Valdifiori’s corner away. | |
| 7.55pm BST19:55 | |
| 10 min: Rooney almost loses out to Parolo but comes away with the ball and spreads it right to Clyne, whose ball into the area towards a marauding Henderson is only just snuffed out. | |
| 7.54pm BST19:54 | |
| 8 min: Ranocchia’s Twitter handle is actually @23_Frog. There we go. | |
| 7.53pm BST19:53 | |
| 8 min: Lorenza Campana has something altogether more interesting for us – | |
| “A bit of lingustic culture thrown your way...do you know Ranocchia means frog?” | |
| No. | |
| Updated at 7.57pm BST | |
| 7.52pm BST19:52 | |
| 7 min: Valdifiori gets the better of Delph but telegraphs his pass forward. Fairly scrappy here so far. | |
| 7.51pm BST19:51 | |
| 6 min: Now Eder has a chance to feed Pelle on the break but the ball is played behind him and, rather than take it in his stride, Pelle has to knock back to Florenzi, who passes it out of play. | |
| 7.50pm BST19:50 | |
| 5 min: Pelle holds Jones off well and tries to slip Eder, his strike partner, through but it’s overhit and runs through to Hart. | |
| 7.49pm BST19:49 | |
| 3 min: Phil Jones is playing that mopping-up role in front of the back four, not that it’s rocket science to have guessed that. A bit of early possession here for both sides but no real forays into either area. | |
| 7.46pm BST19:46 | |
| 1 min: Early reducer from Chiellini on Kane – well more of a block really, but it’s a foul and Chiellini has “shown him he’s there”. | |
| 7.46pm BST19:46 | |
| Kick-off! | |
| Pelle and Soriano kick us off. | |
| 7.45pm BST19:45 | |
| More talk about Phil Jones than Harry Kane or Wayne Rooney in your pre-match emails. Roy knows how to keep our minds fresh. | |
| 7.43pm BST19:43 | |
| Lorcan Greene points out quite fairly that both midfields look a bit watered-down: | |
| “I rather suspect that every English grumble about what is an almost apathetic midfield selection will be at least matched by one from Italy; Valdifiori, Parolo and Soriano as a trio sounds rather insipid to me when it is considered that Conte could feasibly have started Marco Verratti, menace of Stamford Bridge, and Antonio Candreva, who was a persistent threat in Manaus as I recall. Kane and particularly Walcott should also be buoyed by the selection of Andrea Ranocchia; I haven’t watched Inter in a while but he was an exceptionally lumbering centre back last time I checked.” | |
| 7.42pm BST19:42 | |
| Not exactly a full house at Juventus’ home tonight, by the looks of it, but the anthems are getting a lusty belting-out. | |
| 7.42pm BST19:42 | |
| There’s an international debut tonight for Italy’s Mirko Valdifiori, a midfielder who plays for unfashionable Empoli. He will be 29 three weeks today, so it’s nice to see him getting his chance. | |
| 7.40pm BST19:40 | |
| Here they come! The teams are out.... | |
| 7.37pm BST19:37 | |
| Tactics maestros out there, what say you to John Davis’s prediction? | |
| “Could the purported selection of Phil Jones in midfield actually be a revolutionary tactical gambit by Roy Hodgson - the false 8? He could drop into a back three, thus releasing the wing - backs to bomb on. Just think, in years to come we could be comparing Phil Jones tonight to Hidegkuti ripping England apart from midfield wearing 9 in 1953. Or perhaps not.” | |
| 7.36pm BST19:36 | |
| Should have told you who England’s subs are! Roy can pick from: | |
| Butland, Green, Cahill, Walker, Carrick, Townsend, Mason, Bertrand, Barkley. | |
| 7.28pm BST19:28 | |
| Can England break Italy’s hex over them tonight? Crunch some numbers with George Arnett. | |
| 7.25pm BST19:25 | |
| This just in from Al Camino: | |
| “Just eaten elk and bear ravioli in a restaurant in front of the Kremlin and it’s made me feel invincible. What do you think we could give Wayne and the boys to instill that same level of confidence tonight?” | |
| Crikey Al, be careful!! Was there any Harry Kane on the menu? | |
| Updated at 7.26pm BST | |
| 7.21pm BST19:21 | 7.21pm BST19:21 |
| @NickAmes82 Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane, Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane. Harry Kane Harry Kane? | @NickAmes82 Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane, Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane Harry Kane. Harry Kane Harry Kane? |
| Well, quite. | Well, quite. |
| 7.15pm BST19:15 | 7.15pm BST19:15 |
| And Graeme Arthur asks what I rather suspect a lot of people are asking: | And Graeme Arthur asks what I rather suspect a lot of people are asking: |
| “Far be it from me to query the gaffer’s selection but why is Jones starting in midfield? Are there no genuine midfielders in the country who could play in that position? I have a liking for Mark Noble at West Ham but they’re my team so I’d be interested in who else might be a possibility.” | “Far be it from me to query the gaffer’s selection but why is Jones starting in midfield? Are there no genuine midfielders in the country who could play in that position? I have a liking for Mark Noble at West Ham but they’re my team so I’d be interested in who else might be a possibility.” |
| It’s a difficult one. Michael Carrick is one; Jack Wilshere, if fit, another. Although in Wilshere’s case what you gain in ball recycling is possibly offset by issues relating to defensive discipline. | It’s a difficult one. Michael Carrick is one; Jack Wilshere, if fit, another. Although in Wilshere’s case what you gain in ball recycling is possibly offset by issues relating to defensive discipline. |
| Updated at 7.16pm BST | Updated at 7.16pm BST |
| 7.13pm BST19:13 | 7.13pm BST19:13 |
| Patrick Stone gets the emails rolling: | Patrick Stone gets the emails rolling: |
| “While it’s great to see Harry Kane starting, the England team is entirely underwhelming elsewhere. No real width and very little creativity in midfield. Kane can’t do it all by himself [cue Harry Kane hat-trick in the first 15 minutes…].” | “While it’s great to see Harry Kane starting, the England team is entirely underwhelming elsewhere. No real width and very little creativity in midfield. Kane can’t do it all by himself [cue Harry Kane hat-trick in the first 15 minutes…].” |
| That midfield certainly looks rather narrow. Although perhaps we can expect to see Gibbs and Clyne, both of whom enjoy bombing on, fairly high up the field when England attack. | That midfield certainly looks rather narrow. Although perhaps we can expect to see Gibbs and Clyne, both of whom enjoy bombing on, fairly high up the field when England attack. |
| 7.03pm BST19:03 | 7.03pm BST19:03 |
| More on this England selection from Danny Taylor: | More on this England selection from Danny Taylor: |
| England need to take better care of the ball and, on that front, it is possibly a surprise that Roy Hodgson seems to prefer the idea of starting with Phil Jones ahead of Michael Carrick as the holding player in a midfield diamond. Equally, most people might have anticipated Hodgson wanting to explore how well Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane would link up together as a new-look striker partnership. | England need to take better care of the ball and, on that front, it is possibly a surprise that Roy Hodgson seems to prefer the idea of starting with Phil Jones ahead of Michael Carrick as the holding player in a midfield diamond. Equally, most people might have anticipated Hodgson wanting to explore how well Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane would link up together as a new-look striker partnership. |
| Hodgson’s preference appears to be for Rooney to operate in a more withdrawn role, at the forward tip of the diamond, with Theo Walcott bringing some speed and directness to attack alongside Kane. That selection might indicate England’s manager has a few reservations about a Rooney-Kane double act. | Hodgson’s preference appears to be for Rooney to operate in a more withdrawn role, at the forward tip of the diamond, with Theo Walcott bringing some speed and directness to attack alongside Kane. That selection might indicate England’s manager has a few reservations about a Rooney-Kane double act. |
| 6.49pm BST18:49 | 6.49pm BST18:49 |
| The Italy team | The Italy team |
| Italy: Buffon; Ranocchia, Bonucci, Chiellini; Darmian, Parolo, Florenzi, Valdifiori, Soriano; Pelle, Eder. | Italy: Buffon; Ranocchia, Bonucci, Chiellini; Darmian, Parolo, Florenzi, Valdifiori, Soriano; Pelle, Eder. |
| Graziano Pelle is in! Only Giorgio Chiellini, of these players, was in action during that game in Manaus. | Graziano Pelle is in! Only Giorgio Chiellini, of these players, was in action during that game in Manaus. |
| Updated at 7.53pm BST | |
| 6.45pm BST18:45 | 6.45pm BST18:45 |
| The England team | The England team |
| England: Hart; Clyne, Smalling, Jagielka, Gibbs; Jones, Delph, Henderson, Rooney; Kane, Walcott. | England: Hart; Clyne, Smalling, Jagielka, Gibbs; Jones, Delph, Henderson, Rooney; Kane, Walcott. |
| There you go. Rooney at the top of the midfield, Phil Jones at the bottom of it. HARRY KANE STARTS and | There you go. Rooney at the top of the midfield, Phil Jones at the bottom of it. HARRY KANE STARTS and |
| nothing else matters | nothing else matters |
| Theo Walcott partners him up top. | Theo Walcott partners him up top. |
| Updated at 7.59pm BST | |
| 6.45pm BST18:45 | 6.45pm BST18:45 |
| Welcome to Harry Kane's Italian Job! | Welcome to Harry Kane's Italian Job! |
| Ok, we’ve got that out of that out of the way. Kane rhymes with Caine and he’s going to do a job in Italy, just like in the film. That’s the joke, there, and you can have that one. | Ok, we’ve got that out of that out of the way. Kane rhymes with Caine and he’s going to do a job in Italy, just like in the film. That’s the joke, there, and you can have that one. |
| Welcome then to Italy v Harry Kane + 10 (as if he’ll need them!), which brings the perpetuation of an 82-year football rivalry and hopefully a lot more besides, with both teams no doubt eager to litmus-test things with under 15 months to go until they – presumably – do battle in France. It is just nine and a half months since they met in Manaus, Italy winning that one but England producing enough of interest to suggest something other than the grisly end that both teams eventually met, but things have already moved on a fair bit for both sides and there is plenty of reason for both to produce a show tonight. | Welcome then to Italy v Harry Kane + 10 (as if he’ll need them!), which brings the perpetuation of an 82-year football rivalry and hopefully a lot more besides, with both teams no doubt eager to litmus-test things with under 15 months to go until they – presumably – do battle in France. It is just nine and a half months since they met in Manaus, Italy winning that one but England producing enough of interest to suggest something other than the grisly end that both teams eventually met, but things have already moved on a fair bit for both sides and there is plenty of reason for both to produce a show tonight. |
| England are flying! Seven wins in a row! Well, five of those came in Group E of the qualifiers but you can only beat what is in front of you and Roy Hodgson’s team have done that well enough of late, seeming to find a fairly pleasing balance between energy and circumspection in midfield and generally posing a more direct, forceful forward threat too. | England are flying! Seven wins in a row! Well, five of those came in Group E of the qualifiers but you can only beat what is in front of you and Roy Hodgson’s team have done that well enough of late, seeming to find a fairly pleasing balance between energy and circumspection in midfield and generally posing a more direct, forceful forward threat too. |
| Italy....aren’t! Not at the moment, and Antonio Conte needs that to change soon. They may not have lost since the World Cup either, but they were held 2-2 in Bulgaria on Saturday and only squeezed past Malta, Azerbaijan and Albania by one goal apiece in matches played late last year. Cutting edge has been at a premium and there has been a slightly unseemly debate about their oriundi – foreign-born call-ups – too. One of them, Sampdoria’s Eder, equalised in Sofia and further heroics in this one would do him little harm. Italy could do with a positive performance here, for sure. | Italy....aren’t! Not at the moment, and Antonio Conte needs that to change soon. They may not have lost since the World Cup either, but they were held 2-2 in Bulgaria on Saturday and only squeezed past Malta, Azerbaijan and Albania by one goal apiece in matches played late last year. Cutting edge has been at a premium and there has been a slightly unseemly debate about their oriundi – foreign-born call-ups – too. One of them, Sampdoria’s Eder, equalised in Sofia and further heroics in this one would do him little harm. Italy could do with a positive performance here, for sure. |
| And for a sub-plot that would quickly become a super-plot if it bore out, what about this: a brace for Wayne Rooney would bring him level with Bobby Charlton as England’s all-time leading goalscorer. He might need to be at his rombustuous best, because – as we’ll see in a second - he’s starting in midfield. Still – eat that, Harry. | And for a sub-plot that would quickly become a super-plot if it bore out, what about this: a brace for Wayne Rooney would bring him level with Bobby Charlton as England’s all-time leading goalscorer. He might need to be at his rombustuous best, because – as we’ll see in a second - he’s starting in midfield. Still – eat that, Harry. |
| Let’s see which of our heroes turns it on tonight, anyway. Kick-off is at 7.45pm UK time, so get your emails and tweets flooding in. | Let’s see which of our heroes turns it on tonight, anyway. Kick-off is at 7.45pm UK time, so get your emails and tweets flooding in. |
| 6.45pm BST18:45 | 6.45pm BST18:45 |
| Nick will be here shortly. | Nick will be here shortly. |