England travel to Turin for their next international game, coming up against a big-name opponent in Italy after a fairly comfortable 4-0 win over minnows Lithuania at Wembley. What lies ahead will certainly be a more daunting opponent, so here’s a look at five things the Three Lions should know about their next opposition…
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1) Pirlo is NOT playing
First reason for England to be optimistic – Andrea Pirlo is NOT playing in this game. The Juventus veteran, who has tormented England in games at Euro 2012 and at last summer’s World Cup, is still part of the Italian national team setup, but has not been included in this particular squad.
2) They have a new manager
Another change in the Italy side that beat England in their last two games is with the manager. After a poor World Cup, Cesare Prandelli left the position to be replaced by former Juventus boss Antonio Conte, who enjoyed great success in Serie A in recent years and who claims to have been approached for the Manchester United job.
3) They’re unbeaten under Conte
Conte has started well with Italy, and his side are still unbeaten after his first seven games in charge, with five wins and two draws. Still, a 2-2 against Bulgaria in their last game is not exactly a resounding triumph and none of Italy’s wins during Conte’s reign so far have been particularly convincing, many being by the odd goal.
4) He’s not that popular
Despite an unbeaten start, Conte is not proving too popular and has reportedly received death threats over the recent injury to Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio, who picked up a knock in training on this most recent international break.
5) They’re rebuilding like England
Like England, there are a number of new faces in this Italy squad, with young players like Paris Saint-Germain playmaker Marco Verratti a big part of the Azzuri’s future. Elsewhere in the squad, while the likes of Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi, Riccardo Montolivo and Mario Balotelli sit out, lesser-known talents such as Roberto Soriano, Simone Zaza and Manolo Gabbiadini should feature in this game.