Italy applied the pressure on England ahead of their match with the Group C leaders by cruising to a 4-0 victory over Malta on Saturday, while Denmark, Slovenia and Hungary all won to close in on qualifying for Euro 2024.
European champions Italy, who failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, had few problems at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari against a struggling Malta side without a win so far in the qualifying campaign for the tournament in Germany.
Luciano Spalletti's side were missing several key players, including Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Mateo Retegui and Federico Chiesa, all sidelined by injury.
Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo also left the squad earlier this week after being informed of their involvement in an investigation by Turin prosecutors.