England v Italy player ratings: Rice 8, Grealish 5; Gatti 8, Scamacca 5

Three Lions struggle again in Nations League

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  ENGLAND RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale - 7, Made a brilliant save to deny Sandro Tonali, then pushed Matteo Pessina’s shot over the crossbar. Was lucky to get away with a poor pass that was cut out by Tonali. AP

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  Reece James - 7, Defended well and positive going forward, notably putting in good deliveries to set up Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling. Getty

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  Fikayo Tomori - 7, Looked confident in his first England start and was astute in his defensive work, notably making a good block to deny Pessina in the first half. Had one scare when he lost the ball near the halfway line, but later made a brilliant challenge on Wilfried Gnonto. AFP

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  Harry Maguire - 7, Some of his early passing was off, but he mostly defended well and cleaned up under pressure from Gianluca Scamacca when an Italian ball was played behind. Was alert when Ramsdale’s pass was cut out by Tonali. Getty

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  Kieran Trippier - 7, Did a good job defensively and made some intelligent passes, with one getting Mason Mount into a promising crossing position. Did just enough to deny Giovanni Di Lorenzo when the ball was clipped to the back post. Reuters

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  James Ward-Prowse - 7, Showed his intelligence by taking up some good defensive positions and moved the ball well at times. Hit a shot from range that swerved wide. Was booked for a sliding tackle on Pessina. PA

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  Declan Rice - 8, While he couldn’t cap off his performance with a goal after hitting a volley over the crossbar, Rice provided an impressive display. He put in a lot of good defensive work, drove forward well and passed the ball nicely. AFP

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  Raheem Sterling - 5, Played a perfectly timed pass for Mount’s attempt that hit the crossbar but missed a superb chance to put England ahead following James’ pinpoint cross. Had a decent shot saved well. Getty

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  Mason Mount - 6, Hit the bar after brilliant link-up play with Sterling, but hit two efforts straight at Gianluigi Donnarumma. Played some nice passes to build up the play. AFP

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  Jack Grealish - 5, Provided some lovely touches and moved the ball well but struggled to provide the end product, seeing a weak shot blocked by Federico Gatti. Booked for a lunge on Gatti moments after that. Tried to make things happen in the second half but couldn’t get the better of Italy’s defence. Getty

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  Tammy Abraham - 6, Did well to shut down Donnarumma but couldn’t quite reap the rewards after winning back possession in the Italian box. Showed persistence despite some painful moments. Getty

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  SUBS: Harry Kane (Abraham, 65’) - 6, Couldn’t find the target after doing brilliantly to work space in the box and struggled to make any other openings despite moving the ball well. Reuters

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  Kalvin Phillips (Rice, 65’) - 6, Did well to hold up Pessina when Tomori lost the ball, then won the ball in his own box well. Some of his passes were a bit off. Getty

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  Jarrod Bowen (Mount, 65’) - 6, Was direct with the ball at his feet and also pressed well from the moment he was introduced. PA

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  Bukayo Saka (Sterling, 79’) – N/R, Took up good positions but couldn’t quite turn that into something threatening. Reuters

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  Marc Guehi (Tomori, 88’) – N/R, Looked calm after coming on and help England keep their clean sheet. AFP

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  ITALY RATINGS: Gianluigi Donnarumma - 6, Looked uncomfortable with ball at his feet and was lucky not to be punished after conceding possession in his own box. Wasn’t forced into too many difficult saves. AFP

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  Giovanni Di Lorenzo - 8, Was effective in both attack and defence, delivering some brilliant crosses including the one to create Tonali’s opportunity. PA

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  Federico Gatti - 8, Making his Italy debut, he looked a bit too keen to make an impression in the early stages but soon settled. He made a good block to deny Grealish, then did well to stop the winger’s pass to Sterling. Was booked for a foul on Sterling early in the second half. PA

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  Francesco Acerbi - 7, Solid defensively, doing especially well in some of his aerial duels. Impressively halted Bowen on the edge of his own box when the winger ran at him. Getty

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  Federico Dimarco – 7, Put in some good defensive work against Sterling and ran with the ball impressively. Was unlucky to see nobody attack his superb delivery across the box. Getty

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  Davide Frattesi - 6, Showed good energy and moved the ball well but put a golden opportunity wide inside the opening two minutes. Getty

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  Manuel Locatelli - 7, Did well to marshal Abraham wide after Donnarumma conceded possession in his own box and moved the ball well, while he saw an effort from range saved. Was booked for going through the back of Mount. Getty

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  Sandro Tonali - 7, Moved the ball nicely and was unlucky to see his effort saved well after getting into the box. Used his body to help him disrupt English play. Was given a late booking for fouling Bowen in a dangerous position. Getty

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  Matteo Pessina - 6, Showed plenty of intelligence in his first half play to cause England problems, doing well to create the chance for Scamacca. Had a shot saved by Ramsdale after cutting in. Was quieter in the second half. AFP

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  Gianluca Scamacca - 5, Offered very little in terms of build-up play in the first half and blazed a shot comfortably over the crossbar from a good opportunity. His general play improved in the second period but he still couldn’t trouble Ramsdale. AFP

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  Lorenzo Pellegrini - 7, Played some wonderful passes, including ones to create chances for Frattesi, Pessina and Di Lorenzo. Also made some good bursts forward. Getty

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  SUBS: Salvatore Esposito (Pellegrini, 64’) - 6, Looked comfortable after being introduced and moved the ball confidently. Getty

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  Wilfried Gnonto (Locatelli, 64’) - 6, Came close to causing problems and hit the side netting with a shot from a tight angle. AFP

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  Giacomo Raspadori (Scamacca, 77’) – N/R, Bought a free-kick in his own box to relieve the pressure from a corner but struggled to do much in the attacking third. EPA

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  Alessandro Florenzi (Dimarco, 87’) – N/R, Came on to help Italy see out the clean sheet and earn a point. Getty

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  Bryan Cristante (Pessina, 87’) – N/R, Made a strong header to clear Ward-Prowse’s late free-kick delivery. PA

England manager Gareth Southgate blamed a run of three games without a win to start their Nations League campaign on a lack of sharpness in front of goal after a 0-0 draw against Italy on Saturday.

A rematch of last year's Euro 2020 final took place in front of just 3,000 schoolchildren in Wolverhampton as England served a one-match behind closed doors punishment for the chaos that ensued that night at Wembley last July.

Southgate labelled that situation as an "embarrassment" for the country and believed the lack of atmosphere played a part in another Nations League clash lacking verve at the end of an exhausting season.

England's only goal in the last three games came from Harry Kane's late penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw away to Germany on Tuesday.

"We had two or three really good chances we need to score, but just lacked that sharpness in front of goal," said Southgate.

"You can see when you are pushing like we were in the second half, you don't have any crowd to help you or put the opposition under any pressure."

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the gallery above. To see the next image, just swipe or click on the arrow.