Italy and England face off for the fifth time in little over two years. Since the final at Wembley in July 2021, the Azzurri and the Three Lions were drawn together first in the Nations League and then the current EURO qualifying group. While Italy topped their Nations League group (as England got relegated to League B), Southgate’s side are leading the way in qualifying for EURO 2024. The head-to-head record in these four matches is perfectly balanced: one win apiece and two draws, three goals scored and three conceded. The only outlier remains the shoot-out in the EURO 2020 final.

The two nations have met 31 times in total, with the overall record favouring the Azzurri: 11 wins for Italy, nine for England and eleven draws.

The second meeting between the two, on 14 November 1934, has gone down in history. Following England’s visit to Rome the year before, the Azzurri headed across the Channel for the rematch. At Highbury – Arsenal’s old ground – the forefathers of the game met the World Cup winners, England having decided not to take part. Italy ended up losing 3-2. The guests found themselves three goals and a man down at the break following an injury to Monti, but staged a second-half fightback that so nearly saw them turn it around in epic fashion, earning that Italy side the moniker of ‘The Lions of Highbury’. The Azzurri would have to wait 40 years for their first victory over the Three Lions: on 14 June 1973, Italy recorded a 2-0 win in Turin thanks to goals from Anastasi and Capello. They wouldn’t have to wait long for their first win in Britain. On 14 November 1973, the Azzurri were victorious at Wembley for the first time thanks to a goal from Capello, the only player to have featured for both teams: as a player with Italy (32 appearances and eight goals) and then as England head coach from 2008 to 2021 (28 wins, 8 draws and 6 defeats). Italy’s second (and last) win at Wembley was in 1997 when Zola decided the 1998 World Cup qualifier.

Italy have never lost to England in a World Cup or Euro finals. Italy won 1-0 at Euro 1980 (Tardelli) and then again in the third-place play-off at Italia ’90 (2-1 in Bari). It went all the way to penalties, which Italy won, in the quarter-final of Euro 2012, before an Azzurri win in their opening group stage game at the 2014 World Cup and then that famous shoot-out at Wembley in the final of Euro 2020.

The Azzurri are certainly at home in the English capital, and not just due to the huge number of Italians residing in the United Kingdom. Italy have played 17 matches in the Big Smoke with a record of three wins, seven draws and seven defeats (for a points-per-game average of 0.94). In the 17 games, Italy have been hosted by England on eight occasions and played four friendlies: against Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland. In competitive football, they played one game at the 1948 Olympics (getting knocked out by Denmark in the quarters) and the Finalissima, which was won by Argentina (3-0).

Italy have played at six different grounds in London: Wembley (7), Highbury (Arsenal) in 1934 and 1948, White Hart Lane (Tottenham Hotspur) in 1949, Upton Park (West Ham United) in 2010, the Emirates Stadium (Arsenal) in 2009, and Craven Cottage (Fulham) in 2013 and 2014.