England open Euro 2024 qualifier with win against Italy.

 England open Euro 2024 qualifier with win against Italy.

They say that all good things come to those who wait. Patience must have been a virtue and, at long last, it was rewarded. There are times though that however hard we try to redress the balance, or rectify our faults, nothing seems to go right. For large periods of England's Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy in Naples, we all felt that eventually something would give and it did. So when the referee blew his whistle at full time, some of us were so pleasantly surprised that if somebody had told us a full moon would appear at roughly midnight we'd have probably questioned them and dismissed the thought out of hand.

Last night though in the grand old city of Naples, home of some of the most violently disturbing skirmishes between rival fans and a good deal of gang warfare, it all came right on the night for England and a 2-1 victory away from home against the indisputable European Champions can never be sneezed at regardless of the stakes. So it was then that Gareth Southgate gently strolled up to his players, relieved at the knowledge that some measure of revenge had been exacted over Italy after England were beaten by the Azzurri at Wembley Stadium in the Euro 2020 Final.

Across the picture postcard hills and sloping valleys of England and Middle England, its silvery streams and sweetly flowing rivers that nestle peacefully next to dramatic waterfalls, a victory for the English football team is normally a plausible excuse for a stirring knees up in pubs and wine bars across the land. We congratulate ourselves because we too felt a real sense of affinity and belonging to any occasion that culminates in a famous victory over rival international teams. And here we are back in the rarefied land of international football qualifiers, a major forte for any England team in recent decades.

Guess what? England have once again started with yet another win in their opening Euro qualifying group. This has happened so many times now that some of us have lost count. But the difference this time is that England were up against one of the strongest and most attractive looking Italian national side for years. In the second half of the Euro 2020 Final, Italy had called England's bluff, noticed something strange in English poker faces and totally bossed the second forty five minutes that unravelled for England like a threadbare cotton wool. It can be no coincidence that the law of averages would throw up a result in England's favour.

The last time England beat Italy in Neapolitan surrounds was back in 1961 when the late and much missed Jimmy Greaves ran ragged an Italian defence who would normally have taken out an insurance policy for ages knowing fully well that few countries would ever break it down. The bad, old days of obsessively negative defensive football with the language of catenaccio very much to the fore, are now locked away securely in the vaults of Italian football. Now Italy play the game very much on the front foot, an inspirational and uplifting sight in full flow, positivity flowing through their veins, a team with a very palpable air of freedom and independence about their football. At long last the Italian national side are going places.

Before this Euro 2024 qualifier, the stadium darkened quite alarmingly before we were told that this was the precursor to a wondrous light show. Suddenly purple lights flickered around the perimeter of the pitch and then needles of light illuminated Naples. Then the match itself burst into life and for well over half an hour, England took the fight to their hosts as if all the misfortunes that had befallen them beforehand were no longer evident and they could just venture into what had been forbidden territory up until last night.

England, in contrast to the second half of the Euro 2020 debacle, were coherent, cohesive, unified, together in thought and deed, fearless, undaunted and supremely adventurous. They began to dictate the pace of the game with a controlled authority and a pronounced style. England were swaggering rather than swaying about in a drunken fashion as if the Italians had spiked their drinks. Their football oozed confidence, athleticism and a pliable flexibility rarely seen in international football at any level.

Suddenly there was a real sense that Italy could be caught off guard. England were now moving the ball around with quick, quick, slow slow staccato passing that spun webs around the Italian players. No longer are England teams inhibited by circumstances they could never control. Under Gareth Southgate the ball is an amiable family relative who always smiles at you in instant recognition. The channels of communication were buzzing last night and England were talking the most expressive language.

And so it was that Harry Maguire, John Stones, Kyle Walker and the superb Declan Rice put their indelible imprint on last night's match. The understanding that had been developed so carefully and shrewdly for so many months and years, once again revealed itself in its finest plumage. Maguire occasionally looks slightly sluggish and cumbersome at the back but the Manchester United defender is a model of reliability. Luke Shaw, who was deservedly sent off for a moment of madness late on, still chained himself to the Italian attack, reminding you of a limpet. Walker is still stunningly quick while the rest of the England defence simply did their duty with due diligence.

By far the most handsome of performances came from Declan Rice, the West Ham captain, who at this rate, will certainly lead his country. Rice was like a huge cinema projector screen, skilfully reading the game like somebody deeply immersed in a historical novel, tackling with an instinctive awareness of events around him, muscling blue shirts out of the way with decisive interventions. It now seems almost inevitable that Rice will be leaving West Ham this summer regardless of his team's fate at the end of the season.

With barely minutes into the game England asserted themselves intelligently. The ball seemed to switch between white shirts with a lovely accuracy, short, pinpoint passes that were sent with eye catching effectiveness and an innate belief that finally they could beat the Italians in their own backyard. From an inswinging corner England finally discovered a strategic spot that the Italians hadn't covered. The ball eventually landed at the feet of Harry Kane who swung the ball back into the six yard box, helping the ball on productively to Declan Rice who emphatically slammed the ball into the net from close range.

England now found themselves in the most unusual of environments. The last time this happened George Martin had sat down with the Beatles at the Abbey Road recording studios with radical song arrangements and lyrics on his mind. Then the esteemed likes of Johnny Haynes, Sir Bobby Robson and Jimmy Armfield were at the heart of Walter Winterbottom's by now experienced team. Jimmy Greaves and Gerry Hitchens shared the goal scoring that distant afternoon 62 years ago.

Shortly before half time with England increasing their share of possession by the minute, England scored again. Another England corner descended rapidly down from the air and a blue Italian shirt caught Kane's attempt to challenge for the ball. An arm was raised which looked as if the ball had been accidentally ricocheted off the Italian arm and the back of his hand. After much deliberation and the consultation of a VAR screen the referee pointed to the penalty spot and Kane stepped up to blast home England's second goal.

After the break, Italy, perhaps hoping that things could hardly have got any worse than they already were, rallied and recovered to some extent. There was a much greater purpose and intensity to their passing and it all looked well constructed but lacking in the vital cutting edge. We're all familiar with the theatricality of Italian football, the almost operatic movements, the sense of a persecution complex about them. At times it almost feels as though the whole world seems to be ganging up against them. 

But last night it all felt pure and unblemished, free flowing, fluid and frequently inventive. In the second half Italy were administered with an injection of attack minded football. Their incessant pressure for at least twenty minutes into the second half was deservedly rewarded. A magnificent exchange of quick, impulsive passes around the edge of the England 18 yard box was threaded through to Mateo Retegui who picked his spot and fired past a helpless England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

The last quarter of the game was spent largely in the England half as England struggled desperately to hold onto possession. Italy had established something of a foothold and looked like equalising but failed to find away through a stubborn and well disciplined England defence. So, as is becoming quite the custom now, England were off to a confident winning start to yet another international qualifying group. This time only one team can qualify for Germany next year so the incentive could hardly be bigger for England. Perhaps Gareth Southgate could summon the spirit of Sir Alf Ramsey in 1966 when the lad from Dagenham was convinced England would definitely win the World Cup four years before. Maybe next year. We shall see.