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Three Lions start Euro 24 campaign against holders
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Five Bet Builders from 2/1 to 14/1
Think the teams will produce a cagey, low-scoring contest again? Prepared to put patriotism aside and back Italy to condemn England to another away defeat? Or reckon the Three Lions move on from Qatar with a famous victory? There should be something for everyone here.
Previous match-ups point to unders bet
Italy beat England 1-0 when the teams met in Milan in the Nations League last year and the teams drew 0-0 at Molineux in the reverse fixture. Prior to that, and most famously, they drew 1-1 in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley before Roberto Mancini's men won on penalties.
On top of this history, a draw would not be a bad result for either side, especially for England. All of these factors point to a low-scoring match, so we will combine under 2.5 goals with the draw.
Italy to repeat narrow win
While a draw would not be a bad result, Italy have plenty of motivation to want to get off to a flyer here. They failed to qualify for the World Cup and Mancini would not have kept his job had he not won the Euros the previous summer. The good news for them is that Italy have won their last 14 European Championship qualifiers and not lost in 40.
England have failed to win any of their last six away games against Italy in all competitions (D2 L4), scoring just one goal in these games. Then there is England's recent away record - L1D2 in 2022 with just one goal scored (this does not include the World Cup) - in that disastrous Nations League campaign. We can back Italy at 17/10 which seems a touch generous.
England to banish Qatar with a bang
There is no shame to losing by a single goal to France in a World Cup quarter-final and Gareth Southgate's men are entitled to feel optimistic about their chances at the Euros in Germany in 2024, as their status as 6/1 third favourites shows.
The Three Lions could then roll into southern Italy on Thursday night and start a new era in style. True, they have a poor record against the Azzurri but England have won 17 of their last 18 Euros qualifying games, scoring 67 goals and conceding just seven. Harry Kane can put his penalty miss against France behind him by scoring the goal that would make him England's all-time top goalscorer.
Saka and Foden to strike
It's not all about Kane for England up front and he has struggled against Italy in the past, never scoring against them in four previous appearances. That's the most Kane has faced a nation without scoring, so let's look elsewhere for an England goals bet.
Two young players who have been performing well for their clubs and will hopefully carry that through to the international stage are Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Man City's Phil Foden. Let's have both in a to score anytime double.
Grifo's form cannot be ignored
Italy's Vincenzo Grifo has been directly involved in seven goals in just eight appearances for the national team, scoring four goals and assisting three. He's averaging a goal or assist every 61 minutes for the Italians, so we must back him to score or assist here.
We've already mentioned Kane's goalscoring feats but he is also a great provider for his England teammates, so we'll combine the bet on Grifo with one on Kane to score or assist.