England can harness pain of setbacks to overcome Italy, insists Gareth Southgate

• ‘Euro final is motivation to us,’ says manager before Naples clash
• Warns players to take nothing for granted as qualifying begins

Gareth Southgate has called on his England players to harness the pain of the recent past to inspire a triumphant future, as he prepared to kick-off his fourth tournament campaign as the manager.

England face Italy at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Thursday night in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier – the name of the venue alone enough to stir the demons. As the favourite son of Naples, where he drove the city’s team to their only two Serie A titles to date, Maradona’s image is everywhere.

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