Event of the Day: England versus Italy
Our event of the day is the International Friendly between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium in London. With the World Cup in Russia on the horizon, England’s players are running out of time to make a big enough impression to be on the plane. England are coming off the back of a 1-0 victory against the Netherlands on Friday. For Italy, who failed to qualify for the World Cup, this is the beginning of a rebuilding period. They lost to Argentina (2-0) on Friday night at the Etihad in Manchester and will hope they can begin the turnaround in London. Gianluigi Buffon will play what could be his last international after postponing his retirement for at least this international break.
Gareth Southgate has had a strong start to his career as England manager, losing just 2 of the 15 games so far in his tenure. Having lost to France and Germany though, and with a drawn game against Spain, Southgate would see a victory against one of the other European heavyweights as a big step on the road to making a success of their World Cup campaign. After Southgate rotated the side to give players a chance against the Netherlands, he is likely to name something slightly closer to his strongest side at Wembley, although still with an eye on the future. This is the first of the final three warm-up games before their World Cup opener against Tunisia on 18th June. Who will catch the eye and book their ticket to Russia? Find out tonight.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the NBA as Golden State Warriors take on the Indiana Pacers at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. Both these teams have already made the playoffs and now jostle for position to finish as high as possible in the standings and give themselves a favourable draw in the postseason. The NBA has a number of key games on top of that, with the Washington Wizards playing the San Antonio Spurs, and the Portland Trail Blazers at the New Orleans Pelicans, as well as the Toronto Raptors up against the Denver Nuggets at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. There are other key International friendlies in the build up towards football’s World Cup this summer as hosts Russia play France, Germany play Brazil and Spain meet Argentina in Madrid. In the UEFA U21 Championship Qualifiers, England host Ukraine at Bramall Lane. In the NHL, the highlights are the Winnipeg Jets facing off against the Boston Bruins, the Nashville Predators up against the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues versus the San Jose Sharks. The Miami Open also continues for both the men’s and women’s tours.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Fixture
Photos by UEFA