Wednesday 28 March 2018 00:17, UK
Gareth Southgate has described Italy's defensive organisation as "the best", despite their failure to qualify for this summer's World Cup.
England face Italy at a sell-out Wembley on Tuesday in their final match before Southgate names his squad for Russia and the England boss had nothing but praise for the way they defend ahead of the game.
"Italian football, I've always been a huge admirer," Southgate said. "The detail with which they play. As a defender, of course, they are the best. The tactical organisation, the detail of marking.
"The art of defending, because it is an art, in my opinion, and it's often neglected by people and undervalued.
"But when you see the likes of not only this team, but the teams I played against, (Alessandro) Nesta, (Fabio) Cannavaro, (Paolo) Maldini, the best, the absolute best.
"We know to score goals against an Italian team is the toughest possible test. And we know they'll be really well organised and press us well tomorrow. So, it's a really good test for us to see how far we've come."
England kept a fifth successive clean sheet when their three-man defence kept the Netherlands at bay in the 1-0 win in Amsterdam on Friday and Southgate is in no doubt that good defending will be key to England's success in Russia.
"We've got to get the balance of those things, you know? Your primary job is to get clean sheets," Southgate said.
"If you speak to Kyle (Walker), John (Stones) or Harry (Maguire) after the other night, the biggest thrill for them was a clean sheet.
"Then, because they can all use the ball, that's the additional bonus and that's very much how we want to play. If we can keep the ball better, we've less defending to do.
"But, the basics of blocks, making sure you get in the way of shots, those things never change. The fundamentals of defending will help us to be a good team."
