With Bellingham driving the bus this time and Kane as lethal in front of goal as ever, this England squad looks like an even more serious title threat. England came oh-so-close to breaking its half century-plus run of futility in major tournament play last time around, squandering an early lead at Wembley in 2021 and eventually losing, on penalties, to the Azzurri.
The ultimate goal is to be ready to contend for a title in Germany. But with a berth in next summer's continental showpiece now assured, the longtime England manager can use those games to experiment or rest some of his regulars, or both. 17 and at North Macedonia three days later. Gareth Southgate's side still has two qualifying games left to go: at home to Malta on Nov. Their last defeat there came three years ago this month, when Denmark upset the hosts - who played the final hour of that contest with 10 men after Harry Maguire was shown a red card in the first half - 1-0.
England has now gone 19 matches at Wembley without losing.
