Kieran Trippier punched the air in Naples as England's goals flew past the man who thwarted them in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
It was the intimidating 6ft 5in frame of Paris St-Germain stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma that had denied the Three Lions two summers ago with penalty saves which stopped Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka. Trippier did not start the Euro 2024 qualifier at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium last night.
But his celebrations from the dugout weren't his only contribution and when the muck and bullets were flying, the Newcastle United captain was summoned by Gareth Southgate from the sidelines. England had been 2-0 up and in full control of their clash against Italy thanks to Declan Rice and Harry Kane's record-breaking strike from the spot.
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However, the Group C encounter looked like it was starting to slip away from them when Mateo Retegui reduced arrears and set up a tense finish four minutes before the hour. It was Luke Shaw's second yellow card and subsequent early bath that proved to be the cue for Trippier.
Before he'd come on there were some Newcastle traits which looked familiar to Geordie fans. As Kane - a big pal of Trippier's -made the most of being fouled and ate up some seconds one viewer in a Tyneside pub queried: "I wonder if he's been talking to Trippier! It's like watching the Toon this."
England certainly played with game intelligence and pushed the rule book to the boundary at times to eat away the seconds. Trippier's appearance with 10 minutes left when Shaw was sent off simply helped steady the ship and see England home.
He had seven touches in Naples which included a clearance and a handful of passes but, just days on from "Penaltygate" at Nottingham Forest, he did enough to help England see the game out and get their qualifying campaign off to the best possible start. Just like Eddie Howe, Southgate has Trippier on board for a reason.
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