Balotelli earns Italy narrow victory over England
Published: Sunday 15 June 2014, 1.00CET
Italy withstood late England pressure to open their 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory in energy-sapping Manaus.
After Daniel Sturridge had quickly cancelled out Claudio Marchisio's 35th-minute opener, the Azzurri hit the front again through Mario Balotelli's header five minutes into the second period and this time there was no way back.
Lineups
 | England |  | Italy |
| 1 | Hart (GK) | 12 | Sirigu (GK) |
| 2 | G. Johnson | 3 | Chiellini |
| 3 | Baines | 4 | Darmian |
| 4 | Gerrard (C) | 6 | Candreva 79 |
| 5 | Cahill | 8 | Marchisio 35 |
| 6 | Jagielka | 9 | Balotelli5073 |
| 9 | Sturridge3780 | 15 | Barzagli |
| 10 | Rooney | 16 | De Rossi |
| 11 | Welbeck61 | 20 | Paletta |
| 14 | Henderson73 | 21 | Pirlo (C) |
| 19 | Sterling 90+2 | 23 | Verratti57 |
Substitutes | |||
| 13 | Nielsen (GK) | 13 | Perin (GK) |
| 22 | Forster (GK) | 1 | Buffon (GK) |
| 7 | Wilshere73 | 2 | De Sciglio |
| 8 | Lampard | 5 | Thiago Motta57 |
| 12 | Smalling | 7 | Abate |
| 15 | Oxlade-Chamberlain | 10 | Cassano |
| 16 | Jones | 11 | Cerci |
| 17 | Milner | 14 | Aquilani |
| 18 | Lambert | 17 | Immobile73 |
| 20 | Lallana80 | 18 | Parolo79 |
| 21 | Barkley61 | 19 | Bonucci |
| 23 | Shaw | 22 | Insigne |
Coaches | |||
| Roy Hodgson (ENG) | Cesare Prandelli (ITA) | ||
Referee | |||
| Björn Kuipers (NED) | |||
Standings
Group D
| P | Pts | |
|---|---|---|
 Costa Rica | 1 | 3 |
 Italy | 1 | 3 |
 England | 1 | 0 |
 Uruguay | 1 | 0 |
Last updated: 16/06/2014 02:30 CET
Legend:
- P: Played
- Pts: Points
Matches
Match statistics
England
Italy
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Minute By Minute
- 90+2Sterling (England) is cautioned by the referee.
- 80Lallana (in) - Sturridge (out) (England)
- 79Parolo (in) - Candreva (out) (Italy)
- 73Wilshere (in) - Henderson (out) (England)
- 73Immobile (in) - Balotelli (out) (Italy)