England 1 Italy 1: Three Lions pay the penalty as VAR review sees Azzurri cancel out Jamie Vardy goal at Wembley

England were dealt their first taste of what’s to come at the World Cup this summer as a late Video Assistant Referee decision allowed Italy to level from the penalty spot for a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

Aside from the late drama - which saw Lorenzo Insigne cancel out Jamie Vardy’s first half goal with a penalty following a VAR review - Gareth Southgate would have been impressed with what he saw from a number of his players, with those on the fringes of the squad making their closing statements for a place on the plane in June.

Southgate’s matra was clear once more: play out of the back at all costs. It’s a system which has largely worked, though looked at risk of failing spectacularly early on as Ciro Immobile caught John Stones on the ball; the Manchester City man managed to wrestle back to the extent that the Lazio striker’s shot was wide of the mark.

It took England around 20 minutes to begin showing any desire to get forward and score the opening goal, but once they got going things began to look up.

In Pictures | England vs Italy | 27/03/2018

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Central midfield has been the main concern during these friendlies, with a lack of creativity and ingenuity the real limitation of this England side.

That was apparent in the opening minutes, until Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got going.

The Liverpool midfielder, starting alongside Tottenham’s Eric Dier here at Wembley, began to cut loose and surge forward, opening up gaps in the Italian defence, alongside Raheem Sterling and Jesse Lingard.

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Oxlade-Chamberlain was perhaps unlucky not to have a penalty after a rampaging run down the right ended with the former Arsenal midfielder sandwiched between two Azzurri shirts inside the box, but that was not to matter.

Moments later Sterling broke free inside the centre circle and, having already bounced back from one foul, was brought down again on the edge of Gianluigui Donnarumma’s box.

German referee Deniz Aytekin promptly awarded a free-kick and allowed Lingard to take it quickly, putting Jamie Vardy clear through to rifle an effort into the top corner. The goal was given immediately and Italian protests fell on deaf ears.

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With a lead secured, it would seem the Italians were there for the taking. England had the chance sign off their last friendly before Southgate’s World Cup squad announcement in style. However, at 1-0 up, the hosts reverted back to a passive, tentative style of the opening throws.

There were flashes of electricity in the final third through the second half, with Sterling playing one of his best games in an England shirt from a central position, while Ashley Young managed to find his way into the area on a couple of occasions.

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However, with the rafts of changes from Southgate, the tempo flattened. Wembley was emptying after a round of Mexican waves when the atmosphere was suddenly sparked once more.

Italian substitute Federico Chiesa burst into the Three Lions penalty area, before going down in between James Tarkowski and Adam Lallana. Referee Aytekin initially pointed for a corner, but awarded a spot-kick after consulting the VAR screen just off the pitch here at the national stadium.

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Lorenzo Insigne stepped up and, backed by a chorus of boos from the home end, sent the ball past Jack Butland, despite the Stoke goalkeeper going the right way.

It may not have been a thriller, and it certainly ended on a sour note, but there were also positives to take from Kyle Walker - again in a back three - all but nailing down his spot for the starting XI against Tunisia, and Oxlade-Chamberlain proving his worth as a central midfielder just as he did in Amsterdam.

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