Game 7 Recap: England 1-2 Italy

ENGLAND 1-2 ITALY

Italy came out ahead of a back-and-forth contest between two of the biggest squads in the world, thanks to a headed goal from star striker Mario Balotelli. And while several players battled cramps, the fears of the games in Manaus being at a crawling pace proved to be unwarranted.

It was a story of two questionable defensive lines and a battle between the youth of the English attack against the experience of the Italian squad, who were missing their leader in goal Buffon to an ankle injury.

The first half hour was spent with the teams trading possession back and forth with little in the way of opportunities. Raheem Sterling had the crowd on their feet with a 30 yard rocket that appeared to be a goal but got caught in the outside netting. England again threatened in the 22nd when a Sterling cross was deflected just over the head of Daniel Sturridge for what would have surely been an opening goal.

Italy capitalized on their possession advantage though in the 34th minute. A beautiful Italian set piece  centered around Andrea Pirlo gave the game its first goal through Claudio Marchisio. A pass from Daniele de Rossi through the top of the area was dummied perfectly by Pirlo who drew all defenders towards him. This left time for Marchisio to settle the ball and weave it through a sea of defenders from 25 yards for an Italian lead.

It was a short-lived advantage though as just 2 minutes later, Sterling sprung Wayne Rooney with a long through ball and his cross to Sturridge was perfectly converted for the tying goal. Poor defensive play from the Italian back line who completely lost track of Sturridge despite numbers.

A Candreva strike off the post and a Balotelli lob that was barely cleared off the line by Phil Jagielka finished off an exciting first half. Those two linked up just after the half for the winner though. Leighton Baines got turned around on the wing by Candreva and Matteo Darmian and Darmian's cross to Balotelli was perfect leaving no hope for goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Italy collapsed defensively and withstood an English onslaught for the remainder of the game. Rooney, Sturridge and Barkley all saw quality scoring chances go wide or in to the hands of Salvatore Sirigu as Italy escaped the constant English pressure for the well-deserved victory.

An Andrea Pirlo free kick in injury time showed the veteran still is the best dead-ball deliverer in the world. The strike completely fooled Hart in goal but could not beat the crossbar. There were fears of the heat and humidity in Manaus ruining matches, but this game held a frantic pace at times and while it was clear both teams were exhausted at the finish it was not the crawling game some had expected.

Goals

England: Daniel Sturridge (37')

Italy: Claudio Marchisio (35'), Mario Balotelli (50')

Discipline

England: Raheem Sterling (90+2')

Italy: N/A

Man of the Match

Respectfully disagree with the fans who voted Mario Balotelli. Balotelli scored the winner but was largely absent from the rest of the proceedings with the exception of many offside calls. For me, Salvatore Sirigu was the key in this match. Made several saves in spot duty for Gianluigi Buffon and anchored what was a sloppy Italian defensive performance at times. Candreva, Darmian and Sterling all deserving of honourable mention.

Key Moment

Minutes after the break, nifty passing and movement from Darmian and Candreva turned Leighton Baines completely around and the cross was delivered perfectly to Balotelli at the back post. That go-ahead goal was all Italy needed as they hung on from there to pick up the opening game win.

What we learned from England

Had the better chances in the game on a whole but struggled to get inside the Italian penalty area for anything meaningful towards goal. Were resigned to shoot from outside unsuccessfully. Defence actually held up better than expected but Baines had no answer for Darmian in particular who made run after run up the wing unguarded. Wayne Rooney may as well have been an empty jersey in the second half, constantly wasting possession with his touches.

What we learned from Italy

Still as dominant in possession as they usually are but it was apparent on the back end they had 2 new starters and a third playing out of possession. Held together when possession was slowed and they had midfield support but England had all kinds of success on the counter and fast-break. Far too many missed assignments for Cesare Prandelli's liking. They're fine in goal with Sirigu if Buffon has to miss more time.

Going Forward 

Going to go over in-depth in my next Standings Update. Chaotic situation in Group D.