England ensured qualification for the 2024 UEFA European Championships with an impressive 3-1 defeat of European champions Italy at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The Three Lions fell behind early on to a goal from former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca before a brace from Harry Kane and a goal from Marcus Rashford, sparked by yet another impressive performance from Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, gave England a stylish and deserved victory.
England have now collected 16 points from their six matches in UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying, scoring 19 goals in those games, despite four of the five teams being teams that qualified for UEFA EURO 2020, with one team that reached the quarter-finals and two of the finalists; a group that Gareth Southgate described post-match as ‘the most difficult qualifying group’.
The 53-year-old has praised his impressive England side, suggesting that there is ‘more to come’ as they gear up to a tournament that is rumoured to be his final in charge of the national team.
He said: “We need to keep building. There is more to come from this team. This was the toughest qualifying group, with the seedings. People have criticised us for not beating the top teams enough. But we have performed really well.”
Gareth Southgate’s side were runners’ up at UEFA EURO 2020, losing to Italy on penalties at Wembley Stadium. They have reached the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup either side of that tournament during Southgate’s reign.
England have joined hosts, Germany, as well as Austria, Belgium, France, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Turkey as confirmed entrants into the tournament next summer, with 15 spots still available.
The tournament, which could well be the final UEFA European Championships to be held in just one country, begins on Friday 14th June, concluding with the final in Berlin on Sunday 14th July.
