England manager Gareth Southgate isn’t underestimating Italy – “they won't come to Wembley and roll over”.
The Azzurri failed to qualify for this summer’s World Cup, so while this is a warm-up game for the Three Lions, it’s less important for their opponents.
“I don't think they are in as much of a state as some people think,” Southgate warned in his pre-match Press conference.
“They are a proud footballing nation, they won't come to Wembley and roll over.
England manager Gareth Southgate isn’t underestimating Italy – “they won't come to Wembley and roll over”.
The Azzurri failed to qualify for this summer’s World Cup, so while this is a warm-up game for the Three Lions, it’s less important for their opponents.
“I don't think they are in as much of a state as some people think,” Southgate warned in his pre-match Press conference.
“They are a proud footballing nation, they won't come to Wembley and roll over.
“They’ve got good players, the coach [Luigi Di Biagio] always organises his teams well, their attention to detail is always good and they will press us with more intensity than the other night.
“We'll make some changes but some we have brought in to have a look at for the first time, we are not just looking at the summer but beyond that as well.
“There are so many different things you are looking to get from the games, on Friday we managed to achieve pretty much all of those things and it would be great if we could do that again tomorrow.
“We want the players to express themselves and that system allows them to do that. There were really really good signs of that on Friday.
“I mentioned earlier in the week that Jack ButIand will be in goal but other than that I have got to think through one or two things tonight.
“It's important we have competition for places.
“Joe Hart? Joe's professionalism has been brilliant with us, he has always performed brilliantly, we had the best defensive record in Europe in qualifying and he has been a big part of that.
“This week, even though he knew he wasn't going to be playing, he has been a fantastic influence.”