England and Italy played out a goalless draw in front of empty stands as Gareth Southgate experimented against the inexperienced Azzurri in the Nations League.
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 at Molineux.
The vibe around this 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 except for 2,000 school children in attendance.
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.
Mason Mount hit the crossbar early on and Aaron Ramsdale denied Sandro Tonali in an open first half that made way for a second period disrupted by substitutions. Stand-in skipper Raheem Sterling wasted the hosts’ best chance in the match as he ballooned an effort over the bar from a couple of yards out.
