‘WILLKOMMEN in Deutschland’. England are heading to Germany next summer for Euro 2024 – and with Jude Bellingham in their ranks, they might just go one better than last time around, when they suffered heartbreak in the final at Wembley.

Bellingham’s emergence has been the one key change since Italy celebrated under the arch two summers ago, with the 20-year-old having been a bit-part player in the rearranged Euro 2020. Provided he stays fit, it is safe to say he will have a rather more prominent role in Germany.

He was the key to England securing their tournament spot with two games to spare last night, winning the penalty that enabled Harry Kane to level the scores after Gianluca Scamacca had silenced Wembley in the early stages, and delivering the driving run and pinpoint pass that set up Marcus Rashford for England’s second goal shortly before the hour mark. Kane, who remains as reliable as ever, added a third for good measure with 14 minutes left.

England’s defensive issues remain a cause for concern, with a lack of options, and perhaps a degree of stubbornness, meaning Gareth Southgate continues to rely on players who are either out of form or out of their club side.

In attack, though, England are as potent and exciting as any team on the continent. Will Southgate make the most of the abundance of goalscoring talent that is now at his disposal? Time will tell. But given his performances in an England shirt, and the stellar start to his La Liga career with Real Madrid, leaving Bellingham out of the attacking mix is no longer an option.

Who else might start when Euro 2024 kicks off in Berlin in the middle of next June? With nine months to go, there is plenty of time for players to force their way into Southgate’s thoughts, but the England boss clearly puts a lot of stock into loyalty. Provided that injuries do not intervene, it would be a surprise if last night’s starting line-up differed massively from the team that will line up for England’s opening group game in Germany.

Jordan Pickford will definitely be in goal, and having stood firmly behind Harry Maguire to this stage, there must be a good chance of Southgate continuing to select the centre-half next summer, even if he remains on the substitutes’ bench at Manchester United. Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori are knocking on the door, and England hardly looked watertight for much of last night’s game, but while Maguire might be a figure of fun in some quarters, he remains one of Southgate’s key lieutenants.

Kieran Trippier’s versatility makes him a shoo-in for the squad – having started at left-back last night, the Newcastle United defender could be on the bench next summer if either Luke Shaw or Ben Chilwell return from injury and have a strong second half of the season – while Kyle Walker and John Stones seem certain tournament starters as long as nothing untoward happens.

Will Kalvin Phillips start for England next summer? It might depend on whether he finally accepts that the time is right to leave Manchester City, although Southgate’s tendency to play with two holding midfielders no matter what the quality of the opposition means Phillips will almost certainly remain part of the equation. Despite his Saudi Arabian sojourn, the same is probably true of Jordan Henderson, who is still one of Southgate’s preferred deputies for Declan Rice.

Bellingham, Phil Foden and Kane are now firmly-established starters, meaning there is probably only one place in England’s front four up for grabs. Rashford filled it last night, getting the nod ahead of Jack Grealish and James Maddison, although Bukayo Saka would almost certainly have been ahead of him had the Arsenal forward been fit. Barring something out of the ordinary, though, all of those attacking players will be in Germany.

Southgate will hope they are capable of improving on 2021’s near miss. Last night’s game was the first meeting between the two sides at Wembley since the Euros final. On that occasion, England made a blistering start but were unable to make their early superiority count as Italy battled their way back into the game. Last night, the boot was on the other foot as the Italians broke the deadlock inside the opening quarter-of-an-hour.

There had been little to suggest an away goal was on the cards before the Azurri struck, with England having patiently dominated possession in the early stages, but Southgate’s side were undone by right-back Giovanni di Lorenzo’s surge towards the byline.

Di Lorenzo cut the ball back into the area, and while Davide Frattesi missed his kick in front of a covering Maguire, his failure to make any contact allowed the ball to travel to an unmarked Gianluca Scamacca, who gratefully swept home from close range. Scamacca failed to settle in London during an unsuccessful year-long spell at West Ham – on his return to the English capital, the striker, who is now with Atalanta, made his presence count.

Scamacca almost claimed a second with a low shot that fizzed past the post moments later, and with the atmosphere at Wembley having fallen surprisingly flat, England desperately needed something, or someone, to spark them into life. Cometh the hour, cometh Southgate’s new talisman.

Bellingham had already tested Gianluigi Donnarumma with a back-post header when he decided to gamble on Kane being able to turn his centre-half and hold on to possession shortly before the half-hour mark. The England skipper did exactly that, enabling Bellingham to break into the 18-yard box. He never really had the ball completely under control, but his aura now is such that Di Lorenzo did not feel he could take any chances, and the Italian full-back went sliding in, bringing Bellingham crashing down to ground.

A lengthy VAR check piled further pressure on Kane’s shoulders, but England’s number nine was not found wanting, calmly slotting home his spot-kick.

It was a big moment for the hosts, and another arrived at the other end of the field on the stroke of half-time. England’s defensive shakiness was apparent for most of the night, and they looked to have been unpicked again when Spurs defender Destiny Udogie turned inside Stones on the left of the 18-yard box. The full-back drilled in a low strike, but Pickford got down superbly to claw the ball away. In the big moments, the Wearsider generally comes up trumps for his country.

The same is increasingly true of Bellingham, and after running the show during last month’s friendly win in Scotland, the Real Madrid midfielder burnished his already formidable reputation even more last night.

Having won the penalty that enabled England to level the scores, he was also the architect of the goal that saw his side take the lead just before the hour mark. Receiving possession from Foden deep inside his own half, Bellingham was off in the blink of an eye, breaking upfield and nudging the ball past a committed Italian defender.

He also had the presence of mind to stroke the ball out to Rashford on the left-hand side, and the Manchester United man did the rest, cutting infield, breaking into the penalty area and sweeping a superb low finish into the bottom right-hand corner. Rashford might have had a mixed couple of seasons for both club and country, but he remains a potent goalscoring threat, especially on the break.

As, of course, does Kane. The England skipper did not need a second invitation to break on goal when Italian substitute Alessandro Bastoni misjudged a long ball from Walker. Holding off the last defender, Kane clipped a fine finish past Donnarumma to claim his 24th international goal at Wembley, a tally that puts him one clear of Sir Bobby Charlton at the top of England’s all-time list.