Four takeaways from England's victory at home to Italy

England punched their ticket to Euro 2024 with a 3-1 victory against Italy on Tuesday night, coming from behind to win at Wembley Stadium.

A brace from Harry Kane and a fine strike from Marcus Rashford saw Gareth Southgate's men topple the Azzurri, who had led thanks to a goal from maligned ex-West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca.

The Three Lions were far more convincing in this display than in their friendly against Australia on Friday, which will appease England fans who were growing a little angsty about the state of the national team.

Here are 90min's key takeaways from their most recent triumph.

Jude Bellingham is England's new emotional leader

Kane may have the captain's armband and is a great leader by example, but Jude Bellingham is becoming the new heart and soul of the England team.

That's not to take away from or disparage Kane (and we'll give him his flowers later on), but that's just how meteoric Bellingham's rise has been.

The 20-year-old was the centre of attention for England's first two goals of the evening, drawing a foul from Giovanni Di Lorenzo for the penalty and then pirouetting away from several Italian bodies to set up Rashford.

Bellingham's impact on the teams he plays for is as intangible as much as it is tangible, bringing a new dimension to Real Madrid and England since becoming the protagonist for both sides. He is a goal-contributor as much as he is the engine, a threat with the ball and without it, brashly charismatic and calmly charming in equal measure.

The Gareth Southgate era is nearing an end

Bellingham's emergence will lead England into a bright new future, and one that is likely to come with a coach other than Southgate in the dugout.

Southgate has served his country tremendously - only Sir Alf Ramsey, who won the Three Lions their only World Cup, achieved more. He has succeeded when written off from the get-go, taken England to within a penalty shootout of unprecedented European glory, united a nation that has long been divided in the 21st century.

But there are now clear signs that this England team needs fresh impetus and a new voice. A once top defensive outfit is looking rusty and easy to get at, which is in-part down to Southgate's decision to stick with his favourite players.

That's understandable, at least. Harry Maguire was the best defender at Euro 2020, Kalvin Phillips a key part of that side as well. Jordan Henderson has been around the team for years without being extraordinary, I guess.

His faith in these players has become overbearing though, and the off-field defence of Henderson is the sign of a manager trying not to lose a dressing room rather than trying to ignite the positive feelings of a team.

90min reported on Tuesday that the FA are doing their due diligence on potential successors, including Eddie Howe and Pep Guardiola. Both would be apt choices to usher in a new era.

John Stones should absolutely not be imperious to criticism

This is probably the most 'old man yells at cloud' point of this article, but this is coming from someone who just wants everything to be in its proper place, alright?

John Stones. Good player. Great player. Revolutionary, in some ways. Phenomenal in Manchester City's run-in last term. These statements are not without caveats, however.

Italy opened the scoring when Scamacca managed to rather easily pull free of Stones' shoddy marking. That can and will happen to any defender, every defender.

There's where the problem comes. Stones spent the second half of the 2022/23 season playing in a very specific and intricate midfield role, and filled in at right-back rather than centre-back at other points. In an ideal world, England have enough top-level central defenders to allow him to play next to Declan Rice instead.

He's spent much of this current campaign nursing a hip injury and it was a bit of a surprise he was even called up for these internationals. That's the history of Stones - he's never started more than 22 league games since joining Man City, but also hasn't reached the heights of a Maguire or a Kyle Walker in an England shirt to warrant usual immunity.

This isn't meant to be a scathing criticism. Just a little food for thought, is all. Love Stonesy, really.

Harry Kane is peaking again

Notice that the sub-heading isn't 'Harry Kane has hit a new level'. He hasn't, and thinking so outs yourself as someone who hasn't appreciated him for long enough.

But this is what full-flight Kane looks like when he plays with a supporting cast that can either match or exceed his own standards rather than the 2022/23 Tottenham Hotspur misfits.

If Erling Haaland is the best number nine, then Kane is in a league of his own as the top nine-and-a-half. He will empower and embolden his attacking co-stars while maintaining his own scoring threat. The ease in which he shrugged away a fresh and spritely Alessandro Bastoni was reminiscent of his early Spurs days when he hadn't been ravaged by ankle and hamstring injuries yet.

England's forward line might well make up for their shortage of options at the back after all.

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