Southgate: England lucky to have 'incredible' Bellingham after masterclass against Italy

Gareth Southgate said England are lucky to have Jude Bellingham after the Real Madrid midfielder produced another masterclass to guide his team to a 3-1 victory over Italy and into Euro 2024 on Tuesday night.

England recovered from Gianluca Scamacca's early opener to see off the Italians thanks to a pair of Harry Kane goals either side of Marcus Rashford's strike. It was England's first win on home soil over Italy since November 1977 and earned a measure of revenge for the penalty shootout defeat in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.

And while it was captain Kane and Rashford on the scoresheet, 20-year-old Bellingham was the star of the show. He won the penalty that set up Kane's equaliser – the Bayern Munich striker's 60th goal for his country – before assisting Rashford with a surging run and pass to give England the lead.

Beyond his involvement in two of the goals, Bellingham was at the heart of most good things for England and his energy and running were key in turning around his side's fortunes from falling a goal behind.

Having moved to giants Real Madrid in the summer, Bellingham has already endeared himself to the Madridistas with a lightning-fast start to his career at the Bernabeu, scoring 10 goals in 10 games, and this performance at Wembley showed how important he also is to his national team.

"With Jude, his mentality is incredible for his age," England manager Southgate said. "He's been a catalyst. I just think the way he carries himself and the way he plays shows that. He's had that since he walked through the door frankly.

"To have such an impact at such a young age, to show such maturity but also humility. We're very lucky to have him."

Southgate also reserved praise for Kane after his captain took his