After England’s footballing hopes and World Cup dreams were dashed by France at the quarter-final stage, attention will soon shift to the future and to the next tournament - the 2024 Euros to be held in Germany.
Domestic football will resume across Europe after the World Cup, with the Premier League reconvening on Boxing Day. As for the national team, however, they will have to wait more than three months before they play again, and when they do it won’t exactly be the easiest of fixtures.
The Three Lions will play next against Italy on March 23, 2023 in a Group C qualifier for Euro 2024, with the rest of the group of five being made up by Ukraine, Malta and North Macedonia. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the tournament.
While some speculation will undoubtedly arise surrounding the future of Gareth Southgate as England manager, he is expected to lead his team into the next tournament after signing a contract last year which runs until the end of 2024.
While Italy missed out on qualification for the World Cup in Qatar, they will still be regarded as top quality opposition and beat England last summer to clinch the Euro 2020 (played in 2021 due to Covid) title.
The Euro 2024 qualifying campaign opener will take place at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples, with the return match due to be held at Wembley in October. As well as the eight qualifying games scheduled for 2023, England will also play against Scotland on September 12. The friendly, to be held at Hampden Park in Glasgow, is to commemorate the first ever international football match, which took place between the two teams back in 1872.
Below is a full list of England’s fixtures for 2023:
Italy v England, March 23
England v Ukraine, March 26
Malta v England, June 16
England v North Macedonia, June 19
Ukraine v England, September 9
Scotland v England, September 12
England v Italy, October 17
England v Malta - November 17
North Macedonia v England, November 20
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