International Friendlies: England vs Italy, 5 Talking Points

Lorenzo Insigne cancelled out Jamie Vardy's early opener as Italy pegged England back with a late draw in a high-profile friendly at the iconic Wembley.

The much-maligned VAR was at the centre of yet more controversy as the Three Lions were denied a win after the referee awarded a penalty to the Azzurri in the dying embers following a brief look at the screens.

Federico Chiesa went down under pressure from Ashley Young and James Tarkowski that was initially waved away for a corner, but a video assistant review led to being declared a penalty that the Napoli forward nonchalantly dispatched to level the tie with only 5 minutes left on the clock.

The Three Lions, after a rocky start to the match, gained momentum that had the visitors by the short and curlies but were forced to settle for a stalemate due to last minute skirmish. Yet, there were plenty of positives for both sides though.

Here are 5 talking points from the game:

#1 England show more promise

The slender yet comprehensive 1-0 win over the Netherlands last week was encouraging enough and England now has more reasons to be confident about following their latest outing. Barring the first 15 minutes of the match that witnessed the defence in a tizzy, the hosts steadily grew into it and almost bagged another win.

Keeping possession and appearing more dangerous going forward, England had a stranglehold on the tie as they turned the tables on Italy and looked comfortable on their way to claiming another friendly scalp.

This wasn't even the strongest XI that Gareth Southgate could come up with (though the same could be said for Italy), yet the cohesion and communication between the players was something to write home about.

Even if the late equalizer left a sour taste in the mouth, England headed down the tunnel with optimism in more ways than one.

#2 A fascinating tale of two Gianluigis

Donnarumma is an able successor to Buffon

While one Gianluigi manned the net in the 2-0 defeat to Argentina last week, a much younger one was given a crack at it here against England. And whilst none came away with a clean-sheet in either of the games, the goalkeeping baton in Italy is successfully being handed over.

Donnarumma started at Wembley ahead of Buffon to put on an encouraging show between the sticks that Luigi Di Biagio would be proud of; for he was confident while handling the ball and didn't shy away from throwing himself into the mix to clear the danger. Even if he was well beaten by Jamie Vardy while striking the opener, there was this swagger about him that never faded away in face of a challenge.

With an increasing number of top clubs across Europe expressing interest in him, it's easy to see why he's so closely pursued. A more important point, however, is while Buffon nears the end of his career, Donnarumma looks ready to take up the mantle and with him in the side, the Azzurri can look forward to a bright future.

#3 Lingard and Sterling put Alli's place in jeopardy

Quite curiously, manager Southgate opted to leave in-form Tottenham Hotspur star Delle Alli on the bench once again, having left him out of action against the Netherlands last Friday too. Even if he were to travel to Russia with the rest of the squad, the prospects of a starting berth look bleak especially after Lingard and Sterling turned in compelling shows.

The Manchester City starlet troubled Italy with pace and quick movements, while his United counterpart pulled the strings in the midfield in another fine outing to follow-up with his winner against the Dutch last week.

Alli is incredibly talented too, but the fact he was overlooked in both friendlies casts a grey cloud on his chances at the World Cup. Add to the mix the rich vein of form for both Lingard and Sterling, and the Spurs midfielder's case looks even worse.

#4 Italy let down by wayward finishing

Insigne's penalty was only the second shot on target for Italy

Italy's best spell in the match came in the first 15-20 minutes and show that there is still some flicker of quality in the side, but some wayward finishing and frustrating profligacy during that spell cost them.

Ciro Immobile, in the form of his life with Lazio this season with 17 strikes in the league, was guilty of missing as many as three chances in that period that would have firmly put the visitors in the driving seat early on instead of having to leave it so late. Insigne, another in-form striker in Serie A, did prove to be a threat but his efforts lacked the conviction and venom that he normally shows while in Napoli's colours.

Even if Italy managed 9 shots at goal, only two were on target, one of which was the penalty. There are problems galore in the striking department, some of which also reflected in the defeat to Argentina and the next manager will have to iron out this issues before the UEFA Nations League comes around, where they have been paired with Portugal and Poland.

#5 Jury still out on VAR

German referee Deniz Aytekin has a look at it again

The Video Assistant Refereeing when it was first introduced was seen as a turning point in football, as it promised to make the game more lucid and transparent leaving little scope for error.

A few years down the line, the technology has received flak from some quarters and another uncertain decision from the referee in this game further adds to the confusion.

What was initially pointed towards a corner, turned into a penalty as the referee headed down the field to run through the Federico Chiesa incident. The English players were quick to surround the match official, as a brief moment of uncertainty brought a lull in proceedings.

With VAR making its way in Russia for the first time in a World Cup, FIFA can brace itself for more questions over its use.