LONDON – Gareth Southgate has insisted that England can cope with the pressure of their status as one of the favourites to win Euro 2024.

The Three Lions booked their place at next summer’s tournament in Germany with an impressive 3-1 win against Italy at Wembley on Tuesday.

England recovered from Gianluca Scamacca’s early opener to see off the Azzurri thanks to a pair of Harry Kane goals either side of Marcus Rashford’s strike.

With two games still to play, unbeaten England are guaranteed to finish top of Group C after a dominant qualifying campaign that underlined their status as one of Europe’s elite teams.

Having lost the European Championship final at home on penalties to Italy in 2021 – while also reaching the World Cup semi-finals and quarter-finals in the Southgate era – England are expected to mount a serious challenge for the trophy in Germany.

Southgate has no qualms about embracing England’s position as one of the leading contenders and he believes his players can handle the burden.

“I think we have to accept that. Pressure comes when expectation is different from reality and the reality is we are going to be one of the teams capable of winning,” he said.

“There are others. You’ve only got to look through the top 10 European nations and on any given night one can beat another. But we’re comfortable with that.”

England made amends for losing the Euro 2020 final at Wembley to Italy by beating them twice in the group stage, leaving the holders in danger of failing to qualify. With Tuesday’s defeat, Italy slipped to third, three points behind Ukraine, who beat Malta 3-1 but have played a game more.

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti said his team, whose fate will be decided when they play North Macedonia and Ukraine in November, must learn from their mistakes.

“I don’t think the team deserved to lose by two goals,” said the former Napoli coach, who took over in September after Roberto Mancini quit. “We need to grow and develop in those big match-winning moments.”

He was also unhappy with the way Italy conceded the goals. Rashford struck after the Azzurri were caught on the break in the second half, while Kane, who had earlier scored a penalty, latched onto a routine long ball to run clear for the third.

The match also saw Kane overtaking Bobby Charlton to become his country’s all-time top scorer at Wembley with 24 goals.

The England captain, who joined Bayern Munich in the summer, has racked up 61 goals for his country. His brace against Italy was the 11th time that he has scored an international double, with only Nat Lofthouse netting two or more goals in a game on more occasions for the country.

While Kane supplied the goals against Italy, it was the sublime Jude Bellingham who laid the foundation for England’s success.

Maintaining the form he has shown during a brilliant start to his first season with Real Madrid, the 20-year-old dominated in all phases of the game.

It was Bellingham’s tenacious run into the area that won Kane’s penalty for the equaliser.

He also set up England’s second goal by tracking back to win a tackle before rampaging forward and picking out Rashford to unlock the Italian defence.

Hailed as one of the world’s best players even at his tender age, Bellingham drew glowing praise from his manager.

“With Jude, his mentality is incredible for his age,” Southgate said.

“He’s been a catalyst. I just think the way he carries himself and the way he plays shows that. He’s had that since he walked through the door, frankly.”

Bellingham said that rubbing shoulders with the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric at Real has aided his development and he hopes to spend the bulk of his career there.

He told Channel 4: “This is the club I want to be at for the next 10 to 15 years of my life. I am loving it there.” AFP, REUTERS