Get ready for England's biggest game since the Euros final… vs. Italy again in Nations League - The Warm-Up

FRIDAY'S BIG STORIES Nervous Lions Ad England play Italy this evening. And while every England game is a cause for extreme hype and extreme scrutiny, this is probably the most important England game since… well, since the last time they played Italy. And that was an actual final.

UEFA Nations LeagueSouthgate willing to stake 'reputation' on Maguire selection10 HOURS AGO Caught between the rock of that 4-0 defeat to Hungary last June, and the hard place of the upcoming World Cup, this game, and Monday's against Germany, are carrying a lot of weight. England need wins to get off the bottom of Nations League Group A3, but more than that they need performances. With less than two months until they kick off against Iran, England are a mass of question marks.

Luckily for his nation, Gareth Southgate knows what went wrong against Hungary. Unluckily for everybody, he's not telling. Talking to the press before tonight's game, he told them: “I feel I compromised certain decisions and you don’t win if you compromise.

It was good for me to sharpen that focus again. I’ve got to be completely ruthless and create an environment for the players to excel and be at the level they have been.” Oooh, what decisions, Gareth? What decisions? «They’re internal things that we’re working on as a team. So there’s no need for that to be public.» Then he didn't add, «I'm not going to be the person I'm expected to be anymore,» and he didn't walk out of the press conference as the walls collapsed around him.

What a tease. Can he mean something as simple as 'playing a back four' or 'picking Conor Gallagher'? Or is he suggesting, perhaps, that England were guilty of taking that Hungary game a little lightly. Nothing specific about the tactics or