England on The Spot After Another Drab Performance in The Nations League

• England once again failed to impress in the Nations League as they drew 0-0 against Italy
• Despite Southgate making several changes and starting Jack Grealish, the Three Lions struggled against their Italian counterparts
• At some point, the kids who were handed free tickets to watch the clash booed off the England players

England’s miserable start to the Nations league continued on Saturday, June 12 as they were forced to a drab stalemate by Italy.

Following the chaos that played out when the two nations met in the final of the Euro 2020 last year, the game was played behind closed doors.

Gareth Southgate made a number of changes to his side, including handing the armband to Raheem Sterling and starting Harry Kane on the bench.

When Kane finally came on, he was guilty of skewing a glorious opportunity to score as England relied on the brilliance of Aaron Ramsdale to keep his side from falling behind against the Azzuri.

North Macedonia earn gutsy draw against Bulgaria after surviving late penalty shout in UEFA Nations League

Football

From the overall balance of play, the hosts were at times too flat and predictable, and Italy did not have a difficult time keeping them out.

Regardless, the Three Lions did have chances to win the game, with one of the best chances falling the way of Tammy Abraham.

The AS Roma striker was shaping to shoot after Gianluigi Donnarumma fluffed his pass but Manuel Locatelli came up with a brilliant last-ditch tackle to quell the forward.

Sterling then played in Mason Mount, who was unlucky to see his effort strike the post.

For Italy, the draw had some sense of pride to it as they remain unbeaten since their elimination from World Cup qualifying after suffering a shock defeat to North Macedonia.

The draw leaves England bottom of Group A3 with no win in their opening three games.

Netherlands fight back to earn draw vs Poland

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In the other game, two second-half goals saw the Netherlands rally from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw against Poland in an entertaining UEFA Nations League clash.

Aston Villa right-back, Matty Cash gave Poland a surprise 1-0 lead after a beautifully worked team goal in the 18th minute as the away side led at half-time.

Piotr Zielinski doubled the Poles’ advantage early in the second half much to the delight of their sizeable contingent of travelling fans in the stadium as Poland seek a first victory against their host in the Netherlands.