The National Team had their final training session in Coverciano this morning, applying the finishing touches on the 'Vittorio Pozzo' pitch ahead of the match against England. The Azzurri arrived in London this evening and inspected the Wembley pitch, the stadium where they were crowned Champions of Europe twenty-seven months ago and where tomorrow (20:45 CEST, live on Rai 1 - refereed by Frenchman Turpin) Italy will take on England for the fifth time in two years.

Whilst Italy managed a win and a draw in the Nations League, winning the group and condemning England to League B, it was Southgate's team who came out on top in March in Napoli, complicating Italy's progression towards EURO 2024. Tomorrow will be a new chapter in the rivalry between the two nations, with the hosts currently top of the group, three points ahead of Italy and only a step away from qualification: "This match," said Luciano Spalletti in the exclusive interview with FIGC social channels, "is a test to measure where we stand. We shouldn't be looking for easy things because staying in your comfort zone will kill all your hopes and dreams. You have to put yourself into situations that allow you to grow, measure yourself up and reach a higher level. And this is the ideal match for that. An international level footballer sees this as the match to qualify from and doesn't wait to postpone qualification to a later game."

The utmost respect to the England of the likes of Kane, Bellingham and Foden, but there is no awe: "we want to go out and play the match openly," warned the coach. "We want to show that we have our history, our potential and our values. We'll see who comes out on top." Preparation for the match has been excellent: "The boys are serious: they are committed, they made themselves available and they have shown me in these 15 days that they have the mentality to play in matches of this level. They say the key to success is to have trust in each other, to have trust in each other you have to prepare. And the way the boys have prepared, they are ready."

Absent in Bari, Giovanni Di Lorenzo could find himself starting again in the stadium where he experienced his most joyful moment in the Azzurri shirt: "It's always nice to remember that match and that night but we will have to do well to put that aside and face what will definitely be a difficult match. We have worked really well in this training camp and we are ready. We have a big opportunity tomorrow because winning could put us top of the group.” 

GROUP C SCHEDULE AND STANDINGS 

17 October: England-Italy
17 October: Malta-Ukraine
17 November: Italy-North Macedonia
17 November: England-Malta
20 November: Ukraine-Italy
20 November: North Macedonia-England

*Standings: England 13 points (5), Italy (5) and Ukraine 10 (6), North Macedonia 7 (6), Malta 0 (6)

*matches played in brackets