The English national football team is heading into the new edition of the 2021 European Championship final against Italy with a narrow victory. Four days before the groundbreaking group game in the European Championship qualification, coach Gareth Southgate’s newly assembled team defeated Australia 1-0 (0-0) in the test. Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins scored the decisive goal in the 58th minute.
Southgate had rotated the line-up against the Australians quite a bit. Bayern’s star striker Harry Kane and the in-form ex-Dortmunder Jude Bellingham from Real Madrid remained on the bench for over 90 minutes at London’s Wembley Stadium and were able to gather strength for the duel with Italy on Tuesday.
England lead qualifying Group C with 13 points from five games, with defending champions Italy six points behind. With a win against Squadra Azzurra, the Three Lions could already plan safely for next year’s Euros, while Italy, on the other hand, would have to continue to worry about qualification.