Struggling England held to goalless draw by Italy in Nations League

England and Italy played out a limp draw in front of empty stands as Gareth Southgate experimented against the inexperienced Azzurri in the Nations League on Saturday.

Following the shock 1-0 loss in Hungary and Tuesday’s hard-fought 1-1 draw in Germany, the Three Lions continued their World Cup preparations against Roberto Mancini’s European champions in Wolverhampton.

The vibe around the Nations League encounter could not have been more different to the Euro 2020 final at Wembley 11 months ago, when crowd trouble compounded England’s agonising penalty shoot-out loss to Italy.

That fan disorder meant Saturday's reunion had to be played behind closed doors at Molineux, where the Group A3 clash ended in a forgettable 0-0 draw.

There were just seven starters from the Euro 2020 final line-ups as Southgate tested his peripheral players before a winter World Cup from which Italy will be absent, allowing Mancini to fully focus on their rebuild.

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