Football: England and Italy qualify for Nations League

The Nations League match between England and Italy was held at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton without an audience.

Or almost. And there were only 3,000 kids under the age of 14 to spy on the big meeting.

Reason: England were ordered by UEFA to play two matches behind closed doors after riots before last year's European Championship final at Wembley.

Therefore, no paid audience was allowed in, but instead 3,000 children were allowed to watch the match.

As empty as it was in the stands, so too was it in the goal report. This despite there being no shortage of opportunities.

open target burn

Sandro Tonali had the best chance to break the deadlock in the first half. The midfielder got the ball completely free in the penalty area but then Aaron Ramsdale stood in the England goal and made a quick sideways move and managed to save with his foot.

England were not short of opportunities to break the deadlock either. Early in the second half, Raheem Sterling scored from a wide open goal, but the ball rebounded in the dying seconds and flew high over the bar.

Instead, the replay of last year's European Championship final ended in a 0-0 draw, leaving England without a win in the Nations League and currently bottom of the group.

Italy tops the rankings, ahead of Hungary and Germany.