A late Andros Townsend wondergoal rescued England a draw away in Italy on Tuesday.
Italy were held to a 1-1 draw at home to England in Tuesday's friendly in Turin. A first-half goal from Graziano Pellè was canceled out by a brilliant late Andros Townsend strike, as Roy Hodgson's side snatched a deserved equalizer. It wasn't the greatest of performances from either side, though both will be sufficiently content to have avoided defeat.
England saw plenty of possession in the first few minutes, though were unable to use it to good effect. Italy sat deep and successfully soaked up their visitors' pressure, and looked considerably more dangerous when on the ball. Marco Parolo drew the first save from Joe Hart from distance, before a low Matteo Darmian cross was desperately scrambled to safety by Phil Jagielka.
Midway through the opening period England had their first attempt on goal, when a cross from the left bounced out to Wayne Rooney on the edge of the area. He scuffed his effort into the ground, though that didn't stop it rearing up and striking a stricken Gianluigi Buffon's crossbar.
However, Italy remained in the ascendancy, and were rewarded with the opening goal just short of the half-hour mark. Centerback Giorgio Chiellini slipped free of Phil Jones down the left, before cutting inside and swinging a perfect free-kick into the area for Graziano Pellè to flick beyond Hart for 1-0.
England failed to muster a reaction, and almost found themselves two down within five minutes of the restart. A smart pass from Darmian sent Éder into space in the penalty area, though the Sampdoria striker's shot was blocked by Hart, only for Pellè to fire the rebound wide.
Just a few minutes later England finally produced a decent chance, though after Wayne Rooney sent Kieran Gibbs through on goal, the Arsenal fullback fired wide of the near post. That was the best chance of the game until inside the final 20 minutes, when a Rooney volley from the edge of the area was beaten to safety by Buffon. The Three Lions seemed to be growing in confidence.
Eventually England did manage to draw level, though it was the result of some individual brilliance from substitute Andros Townsend rather than a great tactical success. The Tottenham Hotspur winger lashed the ball from distance into the Italy corner with just over 10 minutes left. On balance, it was a deserved equalizer.
The visitors smelled blood, and only a low save from Buffon moments later prevented Rooney from sliding the ball into the back of the net. Italy responded with a fine counter-attack down the left, though wing-back Luca Antonelli slid his shot wide of the far post, and the game ended all square.
Italy (3-5-2): Buffon; Chiellini (Moretti 72'), Bonucci, Ranocchia; Darmian (Antonelli 73'), Soriano, Valdifiori (Verratti 67'), Parolo, Florenzi (Abate 61'); Éder (Vázquez 61'), Pellè (Immobile 61').
Goals: Pellè (29').
England (4-3-1-2): Hart; Gibbs (Bertrand 88'), Jagielka, Smalling (Carrick 44'), Clyne (Walker 46'); Delph (Townsend 70'), Jones, Henderson (Mason 74'); Rooney; Kane, Walcott (Barkley 55').
Goals: Townsend (79').
3 Things
1. Italy won the formation battle
Throughout most of his England tenure so far, Roy Hodgson has preferred a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 formation. However, in this game he elected to switch to a narrow 4-4-2 diamond -- unfortunately just about the worst decision he could've made against Italy's 3-5-2. On the ball, the Three Lions were crowded out in the middle, and didn't have the wingers to pin Italy's wing-backs in a defensive position. Out of possession, Matteo Darmian and Alessandro Florenzi could surge forward almost unopposed, while Giorgio Chiellini's advances from his position as a left centerback were entirely unchecked. It was a basic tactical error from Hodgson, and England paid the price in the first half.
2. Hodgson's starting lineup was unsuited to possession football
England have plenty of exciting young players at the moment, whose movement, trickery and intelligence could allow them to play pretty possession football in the right hands (hello Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley). Wayne Rooney, Theo Walcott and Harry Kane (at least Kane in this setup), alas, are not those players. They collectively lack the creativity and technique required to break down deep defenses, and Hodgson would have been better served by forcing Italy onto the front foot by sitting deep and counter-attacking. Only when Barkley came on in the second half did England look better on the ball.
3. Italy still aren't great
Italy may have been competitive in this match, though they came up against a side whose game plan played right into their hands. Against a better, shrewder opponent, Antonio Conte's side would likely have struggled. For most of the game they were pretty poor on the ball, and the likes of Éder, Mirko Valdifiori and Marco Parolo are not long-term solutions to their personnel problems.
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