Henry Roldán
The Euro 2024 qualifiers kick off this week with a very interesting match when next Thursday, in Group C, Italy vs England will go head-to-head once again after the final of the last tournament, which ended in a penalty shootout victory for the Italians.
Both teams are the favorites to win the two passes granted by the group to the European Championship to be played in Germany and their opponents on this occasion are: North Macedonia, Ukraine and Malta.
Without further ado, at JefeBet we bring you the best preview of this stellar match between Italy vs England.
Predictions, Picks, and Betting Odds for the Italy vs England UEFA European Championship 2024 Qualifiers Group C Game on March 23, 2023
- Where: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy
- When: Thursday, March 23, 2023, 3:45 PM E.T.
- Moneyline: Italy (+185) / Draw (+215) / England (+150).
- Asian Handicap: Italy (-0.25, +130) / England (+0.25, -195).
- Over/Under (2.5): Over (+125) / Under (-175)
- Both teams score: Yes (-115) / No (-120).
All fees shown are courtesy of Draftkings.
Betting on Italy
The reigning European champions need to get off to a good start on the road to defending their title with the mission of putting their second consecutive World Cup absence behind them.
On this occasion, the good news for Roberto Mancini’s team is not only that they will be starting at home, but also that in recent matches they have been very successful against England, including a penalty shootout victory in the final of the last European Championship.
During Nations League group stage action, the two nations met on a couple of occasions, with Italy winning and Italy drawing. In fact, the English were relegated to League B after finishing last in the group.
Knowing that he has a fairly solid defense, Mancini has the difficult task of finding solutions to several important absences in attack., the main weakness of the Italian national team in the World Cup qualifiers.
After the recent injury to Federico Chiesa and the already known absences of Ciro Immobile and Giacomo Raspadori, the coach called up for the first time Italian-Argentine Mateo Retegui, who plays for Tigre in the Argentine league, and who could make his debut alongside Domenico Berardi and Vincenzo Grifo.
In the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, they scored just 13 goals in eight games played and in the playoff against North Macedonia, again group opponents for this tournament, they were eliminated after losing 0-1.
It is worth noting that Italy has won each of its last 14 European Championship qualifying matches.They are undefeated in 40 matches, their last defeat coming in 2006 when they lost 3-1 in France, and they have not been defeated at home for 24 years when Denmark beat them 3-2 in 1999.
Probable lineup (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Francesco Acerbi, Alessio Romagnoli, Leonardo Spinazzola; Nicolo Barella, Marco Verratti, Jorginho; Domenico Berardi, Meteo Retegui, Vincenzo Grifo.
Betting on England
England has a great opportunity to take revenge and continue to poke their finger in the Italian sore spot when they travel to Naples this Thursday to face them.
After losing in the quarter-finals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup in a great match against France, Gareth Southgate’s side must turn the page quickly to try to improve on a string of difficult results against the Azzurri in their recent games.
Taking into account two friendly matches in that period, the Three Lions have now gone six consecutive matches without a win against Italy, including the defeat in the Euro 2020 final and the two recent Nations League matches in which they failed to win three.
It is worth noting that in the latter competition the English were relegated to League B after finishing last, with only three points, in a group that included Germany and Hungary.
For this match, like Italy, Southgate will have to rearrange his forward line due to the last-minute withdrawals of Marcus Rashford, one of Europe’s most in-tune strikers, and star midfielder Mason Mount.
While recent results have not gone Southgate’s way, England have only lost one of their last 18 games in Euro qualifiers when they lost to Czech Republic in 2019.
Likely lineup (4-3-3): Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham; Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Jack Grealish
JefeBet Prediction
After a couple of months without national team action, beyond the Qatar 2022 World Cup, it is fair to think that this match will be a chance for both teams to get their best players back into gear ahead of a busy international calendar.
Italy we have had serious offensive problems for some time now, and not having their best players in attack could pose a serious problem against a solid English defense.
For their part, England, who have a better offense, have had trouble scoring against the Azzurri ‘s great defense and remember that they will be without Rashford for this match. Also, the last five matches between the two teams have ended with less than two goals in the first 90 minutes of play.
Prediction: Under (ITA 1 – ING 1).
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