UEFA Europa League Coverage, EPL News plus UEFA Champions League and Capital One Cup Draws:

Hello and welcome to my latest EPL update, with a twist.

UEFA Europa League Coverage along with UEFA Champions League and Capital One Cup Draws also in this latest blog post:

Let me begin:

Tonight's UEFA Europa League Play-Off Round Action:

Newcastle United 1 Atromitos 0 (Aggregate 2-1)

Striker Haris Vuckic scored the only goal of the match for Newcastle in the 29th minute to secure European football for Newcastle this season. 

That's the one: Striker Haris Vuckic celebrates his first half winner against Atromitos at The Sports Direct Arena.

He hit a shot from outside the area near the wing, which swerved past the goalkeeper into the net.

Striker Demba Ba apparently hit the ball on the way in with his stud, but replays showed that there was no contact.

Newcastle got a stroke of fortune just before half-time after goalkeeper Tim Krul caught a striker with his arm inside the box, but the referee thought he was diving and gave him a yellow card.

Liverpool 1 Hearts 1 (Aggregate 2-1)

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw:

(EPL Teams in LARGE)

Group A:
Porto
Dynamo Kiev
PSG 
Dinamo Zagreb

Group B:
Arsenal
Schalke
Olympiakos
Montpellier

Group C:
AC Milan
Zenit St. Petersburg
Anderlecht
Malaga

Group D:
Real Madrid
Manchester City
Borussia Dortmund
Ajax

Group E:
Chelsea
Juventus
Shakthar Donetsk
Nordsjaelland

Group F:
Bayern Munich
Valencia
Lille
BATE Borisov

Group G:
Barcelona
Celtic
Spartak Moscow
Benfica

Group H:
Manchester United
FC Cluj
Braga
Galatasaray

Very interesting CL groups, with Chelsea and Manchester United both having fairly easy groups (apart from Juventus and Braga) and should qualify for the Last 16, but you never know.

Arsenal should comfortably get into the Last 16, despite having the French champions Montpellier and Schalke in their group, which will be tough matches.

However, Manchester City will have trouble with Spainish champions Real Madrid, Dutch champions Ajax and tough German side Borussia Dortmund in their group.

They may be able to sneak a 2nd place, but they could get Europa League again like last season. 

Capital One Cup 3rd Round Draw:

(Ties involving EPL teams only) 

Manchester United vs Newcastle United

Manchester City vs Aston Villa 

MK Dons vs Sunderland

Arsenal vs Coventry

Crawley Town vs Swansea

West Brom vs Liverpool

QPR vs Reading

Chelsea vs Wolves

West Ham vs Wigan

Carlisle vs Tottenham 

Norwich vs Doncaster 

Southampton vs Sheffield Wednesday

Leeds vs Everton

Yesterday's Capital One Cup Match:

Everton 5 Leyton Orient 0 

New signing and £6million striker Kevin Mirallas scored twice, and set up two other goals for Everton, as they thrashed Leyton Orient and sped into the 3rd Round of the Capital One Cup.

Good buy: New Everton signing Kevin Mirallas scored twice against Leyton Orient yesterday.

I'm just starting: Kevin Mirallas celebrates his first goal on his debut in the Capital One Cup.

Back in business: Nigerian striker Victor Anichebe scores in the 35th minute against Leyton Orient.

 

EPL Transfers and News:

England manager Roy Hodgson has officially announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup 2014 Qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine.

Goalkeepers:
Jack Butland (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Man City) , John Ruddy (Norwich).

Defenders:
Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka (both Everton), Ryan Bertrand, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole and John Terry (all Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Joleon Lescott (Man City)

Midfielders:
Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley (Man United), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Man City) and Adam Johnson (Sunderland).

Strikers:
Andy Carroll (West Ham*), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Danny Welbeck (Man United)


* means on loan, from Liverpool

West Ham have confirmed the season-long loan signing of Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, with a permanent deal available in the summer, if they stay in the EPL.

Shock loan deal: Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has signed for West Ham on a loan spell for the rest of the season.

QPR have confimed the signing of Real Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero for around £9million.
He only needs to complete his medical.

If they get relegated now, after all of the money spent on players... LOOOL


Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong has reportedly flown into Italy for talks with AC Milan over a permanent transfer deal.

Going to Milan: Manchester City defensive midfielder Nigel De Jong could be on his way out to AC Milan shortly.

In other news, new Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has already won his first trophy at the club, three days after signing for the Spainish champions.

Champions: Real Madrid (Modric second right) celebrate beating Barcelona in the Spainish Super Cup last night.

Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the Spainish Super Cup yesterday (4-4 win on away goals) and Luka Modric came off the bench and played at The Bernabeu Stadium.

North-London Rivalry: Former Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric tussles with former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song for the ball.

Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Bayer Leverkusen's 18-year-old forward Samed Yesil in a deal worth £1million pounds.

Welcome to Liverpool: Germany winger Samed Yesli has already represented his country at U-16, U-17 and U-18 level.

Stoke City have made a £4million bid for Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam.

Wigan and Reading are both very interested in signing Marseille striker Jordan Ayew and are both ready to launch £4million bids before the deadline tomorrow night.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that winger Theo Walcott WILL remain an Arsenal player beyond Friday's transfer deadline day and may sign a new contract deal with the club.


Fulham manager Martin Jol has confirmed the news that Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov is undergoing a medical at Fulham and should sign tomorrow on TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY.


Join me tomorrow for LIVE Commentary of Chelsea vs Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup and Transfer Deadline Day throughout Friday..

EPL Super Sunday LIVE Commentary:

Hello, and welcome to my Super Sunday LIVE Commentary Double Bill.
Yesterday, after 93 days of waiting for it, the 2012-13 EPL season started with a bang. 

• 5 star Fulham beat Norwich by 5 goals to nil
• Swansea thrashed QPR 5-0
• Reading drew 1-1 with Stoke
• Arsenal started life without RVP with a 0- draw against Sunderland
• Newcastle beat Tottenham 2-1
• West Brom shocked Liverpool, winning 3-0 at home
• West Ham beat Aston Villa 1-0.

I promised you that I would give you an update from Yesterday's match so hear it is:

Yesterday's Evening Match:

Newcastle United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1

This match was played at The Sports Direct Arena, as Newcastle went head-to-head with Tottenham.

This was new Tottenham manager Andre Villas Boas' first match in charge and he wanted to start it off with a win.

Tottenham dominated the first half, with Bale and Defoe both hitting the post and the bar.
In the second half, Newcastle started to play better, and not let Tottenham have the ball. 

Striker Demba Ba scored his first goal for the club since February with a lovely curling swerving finesse shot from 22 yards out which curled over goalkeeper Brad Friedel into the net in the 56th minute. 


Today, there are two matches with Wigan vs Chelsea and Manchester City vs Southampton both in action.

Team Line-Ups:

Wigan Athletic v Chelsea:

Wigan: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Ramis, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Figueroa, Maloney, Di Santo, Moses.
Subs: Pollitt, Kone, Jones, Crusat, Ben Watson, Gomez, Boselli.

3-4-3 formation for Wigan, with Victor Moses starting in attack along with Franco Di Santo and Shaun Maloney despite all the transfer attention from Chelsea over the past few weeks.


Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Mikel, Eden Hazard, Mata, Bertrand, Torres.
Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Oscar, Ferreira, Meireles, Sturridge, Cahill.

4-2-3-1 formation for The Blues with Fernando Torres the lone man up-front with Mata, Eden Hazard and Ryan Bertrand behind him.

13:30: Wigan have kicked us off here at The DW Stadium.

1: Nice play by Chelsea before winger Eden Hazard turnes past a defender and plays a through ball towards defender Branislav Ivanovic.
Ivanovic runs into the box before keeping his head down and blasting the ball low in the corner of the net away from goalkeeeper Ali Al Habsi. 

1 minute, 1 goal: Defender Branislav Ivanovic finishes off a nice Chelsea move to give them the lead against Wigan.

Mobbed: Ivanovic is mobbed by his team-mates as he scores Chelsea's first goal of the new 2012-13 season.

GOAL!!! 
What a goal from Chelsea, nice build-up play with Ivanovic finishing the move off in style. 1 minute gone, 1 goal scored for Chelsea. 

5: Eden Hazard weaves in and out of two Wigan defenders before getting bodychecked by Evan Ramis inside the box... PENALTY!

Trouble: Chelsea new boy Hazard weaves past two defenders before being brought down by Ramis.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard steps up to take the penalty.... He shoots low and hard towards goal and SCORES! 2-0 to Chelsea, and Lampard scores yet another penalty for The Blues.

39 for Chelsea: Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has now scored 39 penalties for Chelsea in the EPL.

A litle bit lucky because the keeper guessed the right way but it was too powerful a shot for him to save it.

10: Chelsea free-kick awarded after a late challenge on Eden Hazard by Wigan defender Gary Caldwell.
Yellow card after a poor challenge, in which he did not win the ball and had his studs showing.

12: Wigan pressing Chelsea, trying to get back into the match with Figueroa looking dangerous down the right wing.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech is equal to his cross and comfortably catches the ball.

15: Wigan corner, taken by Shaun Maloney into the box, but cleared away by Chelsea defensive midfielder John Obi Mikel.

16: Nice link-up play by Juan Mata and Eden Hazard down the wing before Mata gets taken out by McArthur. Chelsea free-kick taken quickly.

17: Good penalty shout by Chelsea, with striker Fernando Torres getting taken out just inside the box by defender Alcaraz.
Referee says it was a shoulder barge, and play on.

19: Wigan cross into the box by Victor Moses, for striker Franco Di Santo who heads towards goal..... OVER THE BAR!!

19: Moses with his quick feet sidesteps Chelsea defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole before getting taken out by Frank Lampard who sticks a leg out.


22: Chelsea on the ball, with Cole passing the ball to Lampard who finds Mata on the wing.
Mata passes the ball into the box for Torres, but goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi comfortably saves the ball and makes sure Torres does not have a chance to get a shot on goal.

24: Another Wigan corner comes of nothing, thanks to a block by Eden Hazard who has impressed for Chelsea so far in this match.

26: Mata finds Torres with a nice through ball but Torres takes to long to sort out whether he was going to take a shot or not, and gets swarmed by 4 Wigan defenders before losing the ball.

28: Nice patient build-up play by Wigan, but Chelsea's defence clear.
Captain John Terry looks to have a knock, and is limping uncomfortably here.

31: Eden Hazard goes down again, after getting tackled by Wigan midfielder James McCarthy. No card though for McCarthy.

34: Chelsea defender David Luiz goes in late on Wigan forward Shaun Maloney.
The referee pulls Luiz back for the foul before showing the yellow card.

He is a bit unlucky as he looked to play the ball but was late to it.

36: McCarthur is penalised for accidentally htting Hazard in the face with his arm while trying to balance with the ball.
Chelsea free-kick taken quickly by Mata to Torres, but the flag is up for offside.

37: Wigan forward Victor Moses zooms past Ashley Cole before letting a shot fly from 20 yards out towards goal... Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech gets a hand to the shot and now Wigan have a corner.

Moses has been a constant threat for Wigan oday to the Chelsea defenders. Unlucky not to score then.

39: Nothing comes of the resulting corner for Wigan again.

42: Victor Moses skills up Ashley Cole before crossing the ball into the box from the wing.. The cross is too powerful for any Wigan player to latch onto, and the ball goes out for a throw-in.

45: YET ANOTHER CORNER for Wigan, (and you know what I am going to say next don't you!) 
Nothing comes of it. 
The fourth official has signalled for two minutes of added time to play at the end of the first half.

46: Nice through ball straight to Franco Di Santo, he only has Cech to beat!!!
He takes a first touch before chipping the ball over Cech.... Defender David Luiz clears the ball away.

Di Santo should have scored there but his first touch was too much.

45+2: The referee has blown the whistle to signal the end of the first half of play at The DW Stadium.
Chelsea lead by 2 goals to nil against a Wigan side who have been threatening to score, but have not really trouble Cech apart from Moses.
Chelsea have only had to play very well for the first ten minutes of the match, and the rest were in second gear.

14:30: The second half has started at the DW.

47: John Terry has been fouled by Franco Di Santo with his studs up into his ankle as he went to clear the ball away. Chelsea free-kick, but Santo is left with a warning.

48: Wigan SUB:
Shaun Maloney OFF
Jordi Gomez ON

Maloney seems to be struggling with a thigh injury, and comes off for striker Gomez.

56: Chelsea free-kick awarded after Wigan midfielder James McArthur catches Frank Lampard's leg dangerously, and it was nowhere near the ball.

59: Wigan find space with captain Gary Caldwell finding striker Di Santo with a long ball towards the wing.
He moves past Luiz inside the box before taking a shot towards goal... WIDE!

A weak, off target shot, and to be honest, Wigan should have equalised by now with the amount of chances that Di Santo has had. 

62: Manager Roberto Di Matteo is seen talking to £25million signing Oscar on the touchline. He should becoming on the pitch soon.

63: Nice skill by Bertrand before finding Torres inside the box.... he is fighting to keep his balance before he taps the ball past Al Habsi.
The ball trickles towards goal but defender Evan Ramis runs towards the ball... AND CLEARS THE BALL OFF THE LINE!!!

65: Chelsea SUB:
Eden Hazard OFF
Oscar ON

Hazard has been impressive today, and has been one to watch for Chelsea. Well played, and now we look at £25million signing Oscar from Internacional.

66: Wigan SUB:
Franco Di Santo OFF
Arouna Kone ON

Debut for new Wigan signing Arouna Kone.

68: Oscar on the ball... takes a shot from outside the box.... JUST PAST THE POST!!!
Close by Oscar, and he looks promising aswell...

74: Wigan free-kick, taken by Jordi Gomez towards goal.... SAVED by Petr Cech!
A good save by Cech, because the ball was swerving away from him, and he had to get his body behind the ball.

80: Wigan SUB:
James McArthur OFF
Ben Watson ON

82: Chelsea SUB:
Juan Mata OFF
Raul Meireles ON

Mata has played very well for Chelsea today, and along with Hazard my man of the match today.

83: This time, a Wigan corner is taken by Jordi Gomez into the box... for Aroune Kone who heads the ball towards goal... WIDE!

From that angle and the distance from the goal... he should have scored.

85: Gomez takes a spectacular overhead kick from 12 yards out... MISS!!
Just missed the target, unlucky.

87: A Chelsea free-kick just outside the box taken by Raul Meireles towards goal before Luiz heads the ball towards goal.. SAVED and held well by Ali Al Habsi.

90: The fourth official has signal for three minutes of stoppage time to be added on. 

Team Line-ups from Manchester City vs Southampton:

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Silva, Rodwell, Toure, Nasri, Aguero, Tevez.
Subs: Pantilimon, Milner, Dzeko, Kolarov, Savic, De Jong, Balotelli.

Strong Manchester City squad, with £15million signing Jack Rodwell starting on his debut for the club. 

BREAKING NEWS: Winger Adam Johnson has been left out of the City squad, and now surely he will leave the club?!

Southampton: Kelvin Davis, Clyne, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox, Ward-Prowse, Lallana, Schneiderlin, Puncheon, Rodriguez, Do Prado.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Lambert, Steven Davis, Sharp, Richardson, Shaw, Seaborne.


14:02: Tevez and Aguero kick City off at The Ethiad Stadium.

2: Southampton break before City new boy Jack Rodwell clears the danger for a corner. Corner comes off nothing though.

7: Clyne tackles Aguero on the run. He has gone down injured, and he is clutching his knee in pain.

He looks to have twisted his knee badly... 

10: He is limping off the pitch, while strikers Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko are both warming up on the touchline.

11: Aguero is being stretchered off now.
Southampton midfielder Schneiderlin has a shot missed wide from close range... 

14: Southampton have been taming the EPL Champions now, giving them trouble and dominating possession in City's own half.

Manchester City SUB: 

Sergio Aguero OFF (injury)
Edin Dzeko ON

Dzeko has a chance now... will he take it?

15: Manchester City are starting to get into the match, with David Silva and Samir Nasri linking up together to make good build-up player.

16: Tevez gets the ball from Nasri, before getting tripped by Jos Hooiveld..
David Silva steps up to take the penalty.... SAVE! by Kelvin Davis.
A weak and low shot from Silva is easily saved.

16:20: I am leaving now, but I will give you an update tomorrow.... I promise.

International Friendly: England vs Italy - LIVE Commentary with EPL News and Transfers:

Hello and welcome to my Live Commentary on England's international friendly match with Italy in Switzerland.
With 3 days before the start of the new EPL season, England will have their only match before qualifications start for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

LIVE Commentary - England vs Italy, LIVE from 8pm:

The major news from this match for both teams is that Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has been ruled out due to an eye problem.

England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that he hopes Chelsea defender John Terry beats an FA charge and is able to continue playing for England.

Manchester City goalkeeper and England No.1 Joe Hart has been ruled out due to a back injury, while Arsenal wingers Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott are both injured.

John Ruddy and Jack Butland are both fighting it out to start for England tonight, with both goalkeepers wanting their first starts.

Jack Butland and John Ruddy both training to get ready for England's match tonight.

Young guns: England face a tough test against Italy tonight, and only 6 players who were at Euro 2012 will feature.

FACT: England have won 4 of their last 6 matches
FACT: Italy have lost their last 3 friendlies without scoring

England's next 6 matches:

Italy - TONIGHT
September 7th - Moldova (A)
September 11th - Ukraine (H)
October 12th - San Marino (H)
October 16th - Poland (A)
November 14th - Sweden (A)

 
13:30:

Let me tell you about the LATEST news in the EPL now:

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger who is wanted by Manchester City, has admitted that he would leave Liverpool for Barcelona.

Wanted: Agger is wanted by Manchester City, but has admitted that he would only leave for Barca.

He said this 'I am loyal to Liverpool but, there is one club who would make it very hard for me to stay at Anfield, Barcelona would be great because they are the best in the world'

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner is wanted by Italian club AC Milan. 

Impressive: Nicklas Bendtner was impressive during the Euros for Denmark scoring 2 goals against Portugal.

The bidding war between Luka Modric and Real Madrid has begun, with a bid already been rejected.

Spain calling: Real Madrid are still desperate to sign Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric.

Tottenham want at least £35million for the midfielder, yet Real are sticking to £25million.

Everton have confirmed that Olympiakos midfielder Kevin Mirallas is close to finalising a £6million transfer deal. 

Good signing: Kevin Mirallas is on the way to Everton, as they beat Arsenal and Liverpool in the race to sign him.

He is expected to be at Everton on Thursday.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has called on Chelsea to open new contract talks with him, because he has one year left on his contract, and he has said that he wants to retire at Stamford Bridge. 

Manchester United are very close to signing Chilean youngster and striker Angelo Henriquez.

For the future: Chilean youngster Angelo Henriquez is on his way to Manchester United.

Peterborough striker Paul Taylor is wanted by two London clubs Fulham and QPR.


Arsenal have started official talks with rivals Manchester United over an improved bid for striker and captain Robin Van Persie.

BREAKING NEWS: Robin Van Persie has been left out of the Holland starting 11 against Belgium tonight.

Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin is expected to choose between Arsenal and Liverpool by the end of this week to move to on a season-long loan. 

The Carling Cup will now be called the Capital One Cup from now on because of sponsorship deals.

Here is the Second Round Draw for the Capital One Cup (also known as the Carling Cup)

EPL Teams only:

Swansea City vs Barnsley
Yeovil vs West Brom
West Ham vs Crewe 
Reading vs Peterborough
Sheffield Wednesday vs Fulham
QPR vs Walsall
Stevenage vs Southampton
Nottingham Forest vs Wigan Athletic
Stoke City vs Swindon Town
Aston Villa vs Tranmere
Everton vs Leyton Orient
Sunderland vs Morecambe
Norwich vs Scunthorpe

Ties to be played week commencing August 27th.

BREAKING NEWS:

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba has been told by doctors to retire from football.
That is sad news, because he was a very good player but his health is very important and his well-being is his number one priority.




19:45:

BREAKING NEWS:

Manchester United have confirmed the £24million signing of Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie subject to a medical and confirmation over personal terms.

Welcome to Old Trafford: Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie will join Manchester United on Thursday.

For a 29-year-old striker who is injury prone and on his last year on contract, £24million is not a bad deal.

Arsenal should now sign a solid defender and replace RVP with Llorente who is also on his last year on his contract. He has refused a contract extension also.

Team Line-ups:

England: Butland, Walker, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines, Carrick, Lampard, Johnson, Cleverley, Young, Carroll.

Birmingham City goalkeeper Jack Butland starts his first match for England tonight!

Subs: Ruddy, Lescott, Bertrand, Caulker, Milner, Livermore, Rodwell, Defoe.
 
Italy: Sirigu, Ogbonna, Abate, Balzaretti, Astori, El Shaarawy, Aquilani, De Rossi, Diamanti, Nocerino, Destro.

Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo and Buffon are all out for Italy.
AC Milan young midfielder Stephan El Shaarawy starts for Italy. Exciting player he is.

Subs: Perin, De Sciglio, Peluso, Acerbi, Poli, Schelotto, Gastaldello, Gabbiadini, Verratti, Consigli.

20:00:

0: The referee has kicked off this match in Switzerland.
8: England corner by Frank Lampard, whipped into the box, but cleared away by the Italy defence.
9: Good ball by De Rossi over the top of the England defence to Destro who skips away from Cahill and Jagielka but Butland holds the ball comfortably.
10: Sloppy defensive play by Italy sees an England corner being conceded. Lampard takes the corner and finds Carroll who heads towards goal... OVER THE BAR!!
He should have done better with that, and if he had headered the ball downards, it would have at least been on target and given Siriugu something to worry about.

13: Italy are looking dangerous inside England's half.
Destro tried to find Aquillani from 12 yards out but the pass was poor.

14: Italy free-kick from 26 yards out, whipped into the box but the ball takes a deflection from the wall before Butland parries the ball away for a corner.

15: Italy corner, whipped into the box to Daniele De Rossi who is not marked well, he jumps up for the header before unleashing a header high towards goal... GOAL!!!!

Captain leading the way: Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi heads the ball past Jack Butland from a corner.

Captain's celebrations: Midfielder Daniele De Rossi celebrates his headed goal against England.

Italy lead England by 1-0 with the captain De Rossi breaking the deadlock.

16: To be honest, it was poor defending because no-one was marking their man tightly enough.

18: Good build-up play by Italy with El Shaarawy looking dangerous down the wing before delivering a 35-yard pass.
The through ball went straight to striker Destro inside the box, but he was not able to head the ball powerfully enough to really trouble Butland who comfortably holds the ball.

20: Slow, patient build-up play by England as they look to equalise before Johnson is tackled by two defenders and Italy clear.

21: Good vision by Frank Lampard to find Adam Johnson with a ball just outside the box.
Johnson weaves past a defender quickly before having a shot from 18 yards but Siriugu holds the ball comfortably.

23: Ashley Young wins an England corner before Italy clear again.
England need to test the goalkeeper more than they are doing, and need to keep possession of the ball by passing more accurately.

25: Italy corner is whipped into the box, but goalkeeper Jack Butland takes the ball into his arms comfortably before clearing the danger.

26: England go on the counter with Adam Johnson sidestepping a defender before finding Kyle Walker with a good pass.
Defender Angelo Ogbonna tackles on the edge of the box, and England have a free corner.

27: Corner taken into the box, with defender Phil Jagielka making a run before making a diving header towards goal... GOAL!!

Diving header: Everton defender Phil Jagielka scores his 1st goal for England with a diving header to equalise.

Everton defender Phil Jagielka has equalised for England here on 27 minutes!



28: Italy 1 England 1, and now the match is getting more interesting.

Other scores include:
Sweden 0 Brazil 1
Denmark 1 Slovakia 0
Argentina 0 Germany 0
France 0 Uruguay 0
Croatia 1 Switzerland 2

FACT: This is Phil Jagielka's first goal for England.

30: England midfielder Frank Lampard had a long shot from 22 yards out parried away by the goalkeeper. Close, on target and was troubling Siriugu.

36: England are trying to hold the ball now, with quick precise passes to try and tire out the Italy defence.

39: Italy are trying to press England again with a swerving ball by Diamanti into the box. 
Goalkeeper Jack Butland had to come out of his goal and clear the ball away from his goal using his feet.

41: The England band are trying to motivate the squad with loud cheers and the national anthem being sung loudly in the crowd.

43: Nice 1-2 passing play by Italy, with full-back Ignizio Abate unleashing a shot from the wing across goal. Close shot, but not accurate enough to hit the target and worry Butland.

45: The referee blows the whistle to indicate the end of the first half with no added time.


England have played well, considering the fact that most of the team are the second crop of players and almost all of the players are inexperienced and young (for the future players) 
Italy have shown their class at times during the first half, and believe it or not, apart from De Rossi, Abate and Aquilani (maybe Nocerino), this is their second side (excluding El Shaarawy who has a lot of potential).
The match has been interesting so far, but England have not troubled Italy's goal at all apart from the goal and Lampard's long shot effort.


Two headed goals, in 45 minutes.

Join me for the second half in 15 minutes.

International Friendly Score Centre:

Norway 2 Greece 3 FT

Two goals from Fulham players John Arne Riise and Brede Hangeland were not enough for Norway to beat Greece as they lost 3-2.

Sweden 0 Brazil 3 FT

The strength of Brazil has been too much for Sweden tonight as they cruised to a 3-0 victory.
London Olympics top goal scorer Leandro Damiao scored again for Brazil in the 32nd minute.
Two goals in two minutes by AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato (84th and 86th) sealed the win for Brazil.

Germany 0 Argentina 2 - LIVE

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has missed a penalty for Argentina, but so far his side are leading against Euro 2012 semi-finalists Germany.
Real Madrid defensive midfielder Sami Khedira has scored an own goal on the stroke of half-time, before Messi made up for the penalty miss with a goal in the 52nd minute with a goal. Second half underway there.

Croatia 2 Switzerland 3 - LIVE


Former Arsenal striker Eduardo has scored twice already, but his side are still behind against Switzerland.


21:00:


England have made a couple of changes here:


Jack Butland OFF
Andy Carroll OFF

John Ruddy ON
Jermain Defoe ON


Butland has done well in goal tonight, and has his first cap in-tact so a change so that he can stay fit for Birmingham.
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has also come off for Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, and you know that Defoe commands the 6-yard box.

45: The referee has started the second half of this match. England 1 Italy 1.

48: Italy free-kick given after Defoe tackled Daniele De Rossi.


53: Italy on the counter with Aquilani finding El Shaarawy who chips the ball down the wing towards Diamanti who tries to weave past Tottenham full-back Kyle Walker but he is bodychecked.


54: Good pressure by the Italians.  
A cross was whipped into the box before striker Destro shot from 8 yards out towards goal by John Ruddy parried the ball away to safety.
The ball trickled through Chelsea defender Gary Cahill's legs and sometimes those can slide past the keeper into the net.

58: Italy SUB:
Alessandro Diamanti OFF
Stephan El Shaarawy OFF
Marco Verratti ON
Manolo Gabbiadini ON


61: England SUB:
Ashley Young OFF
Phil Jagielka OFF
Joleon Lescott ON
James Milner ON



62: Uh oh..... Chelsea defender Cary Cahill is down on the floor clutching his nose. He has recievied a knock after being hit by Destro with his arm across the face.

66: England corner taken into the box to Cahill who volleys the ball towards goal... GOAL!!! 
No goal, the whistle has been blown. 
Still 1-1, because Lescott was pushing and shoving with an Italy defender inside the box.

68: England SUB:
Frank Lampard OFF
Jake Livermore ON

Italy SUB:
Alberto Aquilani OFF
Andrea Poli ON


Debut for young Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore.


72: England free-kick, whipped into the box by Manchester City midfielder James Milner.... 
The ball is high over the defenders and the England attackers, before the ball curls towards goal but the ball hits defender Peluso before goalkeeper Sirigu clears the ball off the line.

Close, and a good ball into the box by Milner.


77:  England SUB:
Leighton Baines OFF
Ryan Bertrand ON



79: England are on the counter attack with midfielder James Milner finding Defoe with a through ball. Defoe beats Abate with skill before unleashing a shot from the edge of the box towards goal... GOAL!!!!!

Wonder strike: Jermain Defoe scores a belter from the edge of the box against Italy to give England the lead.

What a goal by Defoe, and England gave taken the lead with 10 minutes to go here. 

82: All England need to do for the last 8-12 minutes is to KEEP THE BALL. 
Something they are having trouble with so far this year.

85: First yellow card of the match for Diego Fabbrini. 

Italy SUB:
Ignazio Abate OFF
Ezequiel Schelotto ON

89: James Milner with a run down the wing before passing the ball towards Defoe, but Ogbonna clears the ball out for a corner.

90: The fourth-offical has indicated that there will be three minutes of stoppage time to be added on here.

90+3: The referee has blown the whsitle to end this international friendly match.

FULL-TIME: England 2 Italy 1

A good win for England tonight.
An amazing strike from Jermain Defoe gave England the win against a tough Italian side who played well throughout but did not attack as much as they did in the first half, in the second and were sloppy at the back at times.

Promising young guns for England with Jack Butland, Tom Cleverley, Kyle Walker, Jake Livermore and Ryan Bertrand all playing well.

Stand-out of the match:
Jermain Defoe and James Milner

Despite lacklustre performances in Euro 2012 for Milner, he played well tonight, with good passes, crosses and looked dangerous throughout by giving Italy trouble.

Defoe scored an amazing winner for England and proved yet again why he is a 'Super Sub'.


I will speak to all of you on Friday when I do my first EPL Match Preview of the new 2012-13 season.

This are the matches this weekend:

Saturday:
(LIVE from 15:00pm unless stated)

Arsenal vs Sunderland
Fulham vs Norwich City
QPR vs Swansea City
Reading vs Stoke City
West Brom vs Liverpool
West Ham vs Aston Villa
Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur - LIVE from 17:30pm 

Sunday:
Wigan Athletic vs Chelsea - LIVE from 13:30pm
Manchester City vs Southampton - LIVE from 16:00pm

Monday:
Everton vs Manchester United - LIVE from 20:00pm