Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti believes Daniel Maldini has been the creative spark the national side has been lacking ahead of their Nations League clash with Belgium. 

Maldini could follow in the footsteps of his father, Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, both former Italy captains, should he represent the Azzurri at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday. 

The 22-year-old came through the ranks at Milan, managing 24 appearances in all competitions and scoring once, but spent three seasons out on loan from 2022 to 2024. 

Maldini spent the second half of last season on loan with Monza before making his move permanent in July, netting five goals in 19 outings to help Raffaele Palladino's side to a 12th place finish in Serie A. 

Now under the guidance of Alessandro Nesta, Maldini has begun to flourish, completing more dribbles (12) than any of his team-mates in the league so far. 

The young Italian was one of four players given their senior call-up by Spalletti for their Nations League fixtures against Belgium and Israel, with the Monza forward replacing Lazio's Matteo Zaccagni. 

And Spalletti is confident Maldini can make an impact, saying: "He is the (kind of) player we were missing."

Italy come into the contest off the back of an impressive opening to their Nations League A2 group, beating Israel and France last month. 

After a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign that saw them lose to Switzerland in the round of 16, Spalletti insisted that their encounter against Belgium is crucial to their development.

"We will immediately become a great team in every match where we will be able to give the best of ourselves," Spalletti said.

"It is a crucial match for our future."

Spalletti, however, has his eyes set on the 2026 World Cup, a tournament the Azzurri have won on four occasions throughout their history. 

But Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 editions of the competition, but have since won the European Championships against England in 2021 under Roberto Mancini. 

While Spalletti signified the importance of the World Cup's influence on the Azzurri's illustrious history, he said his players must focus on each game as it comes. 

"It is a tournament that has determined our history, it has made many people happy," Spalletti concluded. 

Massimiliano Allegri declared Juventus have been victims of their own success this season after watching his Bianconeri side eliminate Lazio to reach the Coppa Italia final on Tuesday. 

Juventus took a 2-0 lead into Tuesday's semi-final second leg at Stadio Olimpico but saw that advantage wiped out when Valentin Castellanos scored either side of half-time.

However, a late strike from Arkadiusz Milik handed Juventus a 3-2 aggregate success and ensured they will appear in their eighth Coppa Italia final in the last 10 years.

Despite Juventus having a chance to lift their first major trophy since 2021 and being on course for a return to the Champions League, Allegri has continued to be criticised by sections of the media.

He believes Tuesday's achievement should be celebrated, however, saying: "It's never easy to reach a final, in the last three years we have played two Coppa Italia finals. 

"Now we must concentrate on Serie A, as we have not yet achieved Champions League qualification and this weekend it's the head-to-head with Milan."

Juventus sit third in Serie A ahead of Saturday's home clash with the Rossoneri, and with Italy guaranteed five Champions League places for next season, they are almost certain to be back among Europe's elite in 2024-25.

However, Juventus' drop-off in the second half of the season has led to continued speculation regarding Allegri's future.

At the turn of the year, Juventus were just two points behind Inter at the top of the table, but the Nerazzurri are now 22 points clear of their rivals and have clinched the Scudetto with five games to spare.

Allegri believes a fine start to the season gave rise to unreasonable expectations in Turin, adding: "This final is also worth Supercoppa Italiana qualification, so that is important financially. 

"Criticism will always be around Juventus, but it's our own fault for having a great first half to the season that nobody was expecting. 

"At that point, people thought we could fight it out with Inter, but I was worried that we could have difficulties in the second half. We had a big advantage and mentally rather let go."

Juventus will face either Atalanta or Fiorentina in next month's final, with the Viola holding a 1-0 lead in the other semi-final tie ahead of Wednesday's second leg in Bergamo. 

Roma’s 10 men held out to see off Serie A rivals AC Milan 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico and secure a place in the Europa League semi-finals.

Leading 1-0 from the first leg, early goals from Gianluca Mancini and Paulo Dybala put the Giallorossi firmly in control of the tie.

Roma defender Zeki Celik was shown a straight red card after 31 minutes for sliding in on Rafael Leao, but AC Milan could not make their advantage count despite a late consolation goal from Matteo Gabbia.

Ahead of the match, Roma had confirmed head coach Daniele De Rossi would remain in charge for “the foreseeable future”, the former midfielder having overseen an upturn in fortunes since taking over in January after Jose Mourinho was sacked.

Mancini – whose goal had settled the first leg at the San Siro – opened the scoring in the 12th minute.

Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini collected the ball just outside the box and curled a shot against the far post. Mancini was first to the rebound, knocking it in from 10 yards.

AC Milan went in search of a way back as Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s angled drive bounced up off the ground and deflected onto the crossbar.

Roma doubled their lead in the 22nd minute.

Romelu Lukaku showed great strength to barge past Gabbia and into the left side of the penalty area. Although the Milan defender recovered to stab Lukaku’s cross away, the ball fell to Dybala, who curled it into the far bottom corner.

Belgian forward Lukaku then sustained an injury and was replaced by Tammy Abraham in the 29th minute.

Roma found themselves down to 10 men just after the half-hour mark when Celik slid in on Leao as the Portuguese forward sprinted away down the left and was shown a straight red card by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak.

The visitors were soon claiming a penalty when the ball bounced around a crowded penalty area and looked to have hit Mancini on the hand.

However, after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor, the referee ruled the ball had struck Olivier Giroud’s hand first.

Dybala was also forced off through injury just before half-time, with Diego Llorente coming on.

Roma, who have climbed from ninth to fifth in Serie A under De Rossi, were content to allow Milan plenty of possession but without really stretching the home defensive line.

The Giallorossi looked to hit Milan on the counter, with Leonardo Spinazzola played clear down the left but his low angled drive was pushed away by Mike Maignan.

On the hour, Leao then cut inside to pull the ball back for Luka Jovic but his shot from 10 yards was straight at Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar.

Roma winger Stephan El Shaarawy got away down the right and sent in a cross which Abraham first tried to flick goalwards with a backheel – and then blazed the loose ball over.

Milan continued to struggle to down Roma before eventually scoring a late consolation when defender Gabbia headed in from Leao’s cross with five minutes left.

In stoppage time, Milan defender Theo Hernandez was initially sent off for a foul on El Shaarawy – only for the referee to overturn his decision after taking another look on the monitor and show a yellow card instead.

Empoli coach Davide Nicola feels only a “volcanic” effort from his side will be enough to help them get a result at AC Milan.

The Rossoneri will be out to keep the pressure on Juventus in the chase for second behind runaway Serie A leaders Inter Milan and head into Sunday’s game on the back of a 4-2 win over Slavia Prague in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

Empoli, meanwhile, sit 15th, just two points above the relegation zone.

Nicola knows his men will be up against it at the San Siro but challenged them to go into the game with a positive mindset.

“When we talk about a team like Milan, strong and with a capable coach, it is not easy to identify flaws, but this is our job and we do it because every opponent has them,” Nicola told a press conference.

“We will need a volcanic Empoli, from the point of view of energy and obsessive organisation in both phases, but also of enthusiasm in showing our identity and the desire to continue on our path.

“We have prepared. The important thing is to do everything with maximum concentration and also with enthusiasm because we have to express ourselves.”

Nicola expects a response to last weekend’s home defeat by Cagliari,

“From a quality point of view, we have already set aside the previous performance,” said Nicola, whose side have won both of their previous two away games.

“We know we need to improve in some phases of the match.

“The desire to compete with a high-quality team, who are used to playing every three days, is an absolute growth opportunity for us.”

AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli will have to do without Rafael Leao through suspension after the Portuguese winger picked up a fifth yellow card in the Serie A victory over Lazio.

Swiss forward Noah Okafor is expected to start, having scored a late winner when coming off the bench at the Stadio Olimpico.

Nicola knows whatever side Pioli picks is set to provide a stern test.

“I don’t think Milan are Leao-dependent, he is an extraordinary player, but they have a competitive squad,” the Empoli coach said.

“Regardless of who is there, we must have the taste and mentality to express ourselves.

“Our attention to work never changes, regardless of the opponent we encounter.”

Scotland’s Guinness Six Nations campaign unravelled in disastrous fashion in Rome as they crashed to a first defeat against Italy since 2015.

Gregor Townsend’s side looked set to tighten their grip on second place – and keep themselves on course for a first top-two finish this century – when they held 14-3 and 22-10 leads in the first half following tries from props Zander Fagerson and Pierre Schoeman either side of a score from Kyle Steyn.

However, the Scots completely lost their way after the interval as they fell to a 31-29 loss against an Italian side who – despite several encouraging displays that helped draw a capacity crowd to the Stadio Olimpico – had not won a Six Nations match since victory in Wales two years ago.

This chastening defeat in the Eternal City is sure to crank up the heat on head coach Townsend five months after exiting the World Cup at the group-stage.

Italy got the chance to get the scoreboard ticking over just seconds into the match when Scotland were penalised on their own 22 immediately from the kick-off. Paolo Garbisi saw the ball fall off the tee while the clock was running but the fly-half kept his composure to re-tee and send his kick between the posts.

Scotland soon gained a foothold, however, and they got themselves in front in the sixth minute when Fagerson powered his way over from close range after a sustained spell of pressure inside the Italian 22. Finn Russell converted.

The visitors crossed the whitewash again five minutes later when they worked the ball out to the right and Blair Kinghorn fed Steyn, who bundled his way past two Italians to cross the line. Russell converted again.

The Azzurri summoned a swift response as scrum-half Martin Page-Relo lobbed a clever kick over the top and centre Juan Ignacio Brex ran gleefully over just to the left of the posts in the 15th minute. Garbisi converted.

Shortly after Russell kicked a close-range penalty, Scotland scored their third try of the match in the 28th minute as Schoeman finished things off after being fed by George Turner in a driving maul. Russell’s conversion drifted wide.

Italy finished the first half strongly and reduced their interval deficit to 22-16 with a couple of penalties kicked by Garbisi and then Page-Relo, who was on target from close to the half-way line.

Scotland thought they had extended their advantage two minutes into the second period when scrum-half George Horne – on his first start since the 2019 World Cup – bolted over after excellent play by Huw Jones to release him but it was subsequently chalked off after Schoeman was adjudged to have committed a foul in the build-up.

The prop’s needless indiscretion was to prove hugely pivotal. Just two minutes later, Italy closed to within a point when debutant Louis Lynagh – son of former Australia international Michael – ran on to Garbisi’s kick-through and darted over the line. Garbisi – with the chance to edge his team in front – saw his conversion attempt come back off the post.

The Scots found themselves in trouble in the 57th minute when the Italians got themselves in front as replacement scrum-half Stephen Varney found a gap between Andy Christie and Jack Dempsey to nudge his way over. This time Garbisi was on target.

Garbisi then scored a huge penalty from distance to put the hosts nine points ahead with seven minutes to play, placing the Scots in a state of desperation.

Replacement lock Sam Skinner – denied a match-winning try against France a month previously – pushed over with two minutes left and Russell converted to bring the Scots back to within two points and set up a tense finish.

Townsend’s team were unable to find another score, however, and – as the Azzurri celebrated a rare and deserved victory – the Scotland players slumped to their knees in abject despair as a campaign had that promised so much was reduced to rubble in Rome.

Rory Darge feels Italy’s Stadio Olimpico would be “a nice place” for Duhan van der Merwe to become Scotland’s record try-scorer – but the co-captain stressed that his team’s focus is solely on leaving Rome with another Guinness Six Nations victory.

The Scots have won two of their three championship matches so far to sit second in the table – albeit six points adrift of Grand Slam-chasing Ireland – going into the penultimate round of fixtures.

While the priority for Gregor Townsend’s side is to get the points that will keep them on course for a first top-two finish in the Six Nations era, the fixture has added spice because Van der Merwe goes into it with 26 international tries to his name – one shy of the county’s record-holder Stuart Hogg.

A score or two by the South Africa-born wing on Saturday would see him join or overtake the former full-back, who will be at the Stadio Olimpico to support his old colleagues after completing a charity cycle to the Eternal City in aid of the My Name’5 Doddie foundation.

Back-rower Darge said: “I know one of Duhi’s tries in particular (his second one against England) was off our defensive efforts and then the turnover attack, so if we do get ourselves right, then we can put guys like that in.

“He’s obviously a great finisher. Sometimes you only need to give him half a chance and he comes away with a chance, so it (the record) could happen.

“It would be a nice place for him to do it but I don’t think he’ll have too much of his mind set on that.

“He’ll just be focused on his role, and he might come away with a couple, but we’ll have to wait and see. I’m sure Italy will put us under a lot of pressure.”

Darge insisted Edinburgh wing Van der Merwe has remained as humble as ever in the wake of the Calcutta Cup hat-trick a fortnight ago that put him on the cusp of Hogg’s record.

“Duhi’s always the same,” said the Glasgow forward. “Around training and around camp, he’s always quite laidback but when he gets out there he’s a Test-match animal, and it’s class to be able to play with him.”

Darge’s only previous experience of playing at Stadio Olimpico was a 33-22 victory two years ago in front of a crowd of 41,214.

This time, the famous arena in north-west Rome – used predominantly for football – is set to be full to capacity, with 70,000 tickets having been sold on the back of encouraging championship performances from the Azzurri against England and France.

“Italy are a really good side,” said Darge. “We saw that against France, and they’re obviously playing at home where they’ll have a really good atmosphere and good backing.

“The Stadio Olimpico is different (to other Six Nations venues) but the Scotland fans always travel well for this one, so that will be massive for us.

“It’s a long walk from the changing room but it’s a cool stadium. Inside the changing room, on the walk in, with all the jerseys on the wall and stuff like that, there’s a lot of history behind it, so it’s a cool place to be playing rugby.”

Roberto De Zerbi acknowledged Brighton’s 4-0 hammering at Roma was a reality check for his Europa League novices.

The Seagulls’ adventure in Europe turned into a nightmare at Stadio Olimpico after they conceded twice in each half to lose heavily in the club’s first ever European knockout tie.

First-half goals by Paulo Dybala and Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku put the visitors on the ropes, but worse was to follow with Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante able to score in quick succession to essentially kill the last-16 tie ahead of next week’s second leg.

This defeat made it three in a row for injury-hit Brighton, who were without a number of key individuals, which has contributed towards their season derailing in recent weeks with poor Premier League form coupled with an FA Cup exit leaving the Europa League as the club’s main focus.

“We played our game. We gave our best. Maybe our best now is this performance,” De Zerbi admitted.

“I think Roma is much better in terms of experience to play this type of game and we suffer a lot. Too much I think. We are not used to playing this competition and today we paid everything.

“We paid (for) a squad not so long, we paid to play away in this stadium, we paid with too many injured players and for us, it is the first time so we have to improve.

“We have to progress and if we want to compete in this level, from the owner to the coach to the players we have to progress to reach one level higher.

“We are proud we reach this game. We know very well the situation. I know very well the situation.

“I spoke with the owner a lot of times before February on the transfer market and I told him the problems we are finding, but it is the first time Brighton plays this competition. Europa League final eight is a big level for us so we have to improve to progress.”

Roma broke the deadlock after 12 minutes when Leandro Paredes’ superb through ball found Dybala, who rounded Jason Steele and fired into the empty net with VAR subsequently awarding the goal.

Brighton did respond with Simon Adingra, who had an early cross deflected onto a post by Roma’s Evan Ndicka, able to pick out Danny Welbeck, but Mile Svilar denied the former England international’s header with his feet.

Welbeck would be thwarted again by Svilar before half-time, although by this point the hosts had extended their advantage.

A poor touch by Lewis Dunk from Paredes’ long ball allowed Lukaku the opportunity to dribble into the area where he slotted beyond Steele for his 18th goal of the campaign.

More Adingra magic created another opening early into the second period, but Welbeck scooped over and Roma hit Brighton with a double sucker-punch.

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First, a Stephan El Shaarawy cross was poked home by Mancini, who had looked marginally offside but VAR awarded the 64th-minute goal before four minutes later another El Shaarawy centre was headed home by Cristante to ensure De Zerbi endured a night to forget on his return to Italy.

He told TNT Sports: “Yes, we create a lot of chance and maybe the same in terms of numbers, but if you watch the game, you can understand Roma played with different power, with different speed and with different habits I think. Habits to play this game.

“We are not used to playing at this level and so we showed our problems, but I love this club, I love these players and I know we played 20 per cent of our potential.”

Meanwhile, Brighton supporters’ were alleged to have had objects thrown at them inside Stadio Olimpico.

“We are aware of the bottles, coins and lighters being thrown by home supporters into the away end. We have reported to UEFA and Italian police and requested immediate action be taken,” a Brighton statement read.

Brighton’s European adventure turned into a nightmare after they were blown away by Roma to suffer a 4-0 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roberto De Zerbi had guided the Seagulls through to the Europa League last-16 with a four-match winning run in the competition, but first-half goals by Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku put the visitors on the ropes in Rome.

Worse was to follow after the break with Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante able to score in quick succession to essentially kill the tie.

The Premier League outfit did have their chances with Danny Welbeck denied on several occasions, but injury-hit Brighton need a miracle to overturn a four-goal deficit in next week’s second leg.

De Zerbi and opposite number Daniele De Rossi exchanged a number of pleasantries on Wednesday with the Seagulls boss labelled a “genius”, but it was a different story out in the streets of the Italian capital with two Brighton fans stabbed the day before the match.

Both fortunately only suffered minor wounds ahead of the club’s first ever European knockout tie and a hostile atmosphere greeted the away players onto the pitch.

It was almost 1-0 inside three minutes when Leonardo Spinazzola was given too much time on the left and picked out Chelsea loanee Lukaku, whose header was brilliantly tipped over by Jason Steele.

Steele was at fault for Roma’s next opportunity after a wayward pass gifted possession to the hosts, although Lukaku could only drag his effort wide.

It had largely been one-way traffic but Brighton provided a reminder of their threat when Simon Adingra – one of six changes from Saturday’s 3-0 loss at Fulham – saw his cross deflected onto the post by Roma’s Evan Ndicka.

That chanced settled Brighton, who had just started to dictate possession when they were cut open for the opener after 12 minutes.

Leandro Paredes threaded a superb through ball from inside his own half, which Lewis Dunk was unable to intercept and Dybala rounded Steele before he fired into the empty net.

Dybala’s joy was initially cut short when the offside flag was raised but a VAR check deemed the Argentina attacker had been onside and the goal stood.

Brighton did respond well to going behind and more joy for Adingra down the left created a chance for Welbeck after 26 minutes, but Mile Svilar brilliantly saved with his feet.

Lukaku headed another opportunity off target soon after before Paul van Hecke deflected a Lorenzo Pellegrini shot wide as Roma retained their dominance and that turned into a second goal with 43 minutes on the clock.

Another Paredes ball forward caused Brighton problems and captain Dunk’s poor touch allowed Lukaku to race through and slot beyond Steele for his 18th goal of the season.

The visitors almost responded instantly after Adingra crossed in for Welbeck, but Svilar produced a flying save to thwart the header.

De Zerbi introduced Ansu Fati at half-time, but Roma should have made it 3-0 early into the second period only for Steele to deny Lukaku’s latest header.

The next goal felt crucial and more Adingra magic created another opening for Welbeck, who could only scoop over from inside the area.

It was a pivotal miss with Roma able to grab their third and fourth goals in quick succession to all but kill the tie.

Mancini poked home from Stephan El Shaarawy’s cross after 64 minutes and although the defender appeared marginally offside, a VAR check awarded the goal.

Four minutes later it was 4-0 as El Shaarawy again burst down the left and found Cristante, who headed home to ensure De Zerbi endured a night to forget on his return to Italy.

Stefano Pioli called for his AC Milan side to be more “cynical” in front of goal ahead of their Serie A trip to Lazio as they look to turn the heat up on second-placed Juventus.

Milan were held to a 1-1 home draw by Atalanta in their last fixture – having lost to Monza and Rennes in their previous two matches – leaving them four points behind Juve in the Serie A standings and just five ahead of in-form Bologna in fourth pace.

The Rossoneri will now be eager to get back to winning ways against Lazio on Friday and coach Pioli wants his side’s performance to be consistent, calling for additional cutting edge up front.

“We want to produce the same performance as last week whilst aiming for a different result,” Pioli said on his club’s website.

“We analysed the positives after Atalanta but also tried to understand why we couldn’t score one more than them because we had the chance to. We need to be more cynical”.

Lazio have lost three of their last five Serie A matches, winning the other two, and will also be keen to get back on track after surrendering a half-time lead to lose 2-1 at Fiorentina last time out.

That was the second time in three matches Lazio have ended up empty-handing after taking the lead, and left them eighth in the table, eight points off the top four.

Pioli believes Maurizio Sarri’s “motivated” team will bring the fight to them at the Stadio Olimpico, where Lazio are playing only their second home match in six league outings.

Pioli also ruled out resting any of his players ahead of next week’s Europa League last-16 first leg at home to Sparta Prague.

“They (Lazio) are a team with great quality that comes off the back of an unsatisfactory performance,” said Pioli.

“They will be motivated but can also be thrown off by playing with intensity. The game against Slavia Prague will be very important, we are studying them but are fully focused on Lazio.

“Then we will have an almost full week, there won’t be changes in Rome in order to rest players. I believe that both sides will try to play with different ideas. The midfield battles will be very important”.

While Milan will still hold hope of overhauling Juve in second spot, Pioli concedes that city rivals Inter are unlikely to be caught by any team.

Runaway leaders Inter sit 12 points at the top of the table having won 22 of their 26 matches this season, losing just once and conceding only 12 goals.

Pioli said: “I think that the top spot in the league is decided, Inter are recording incredible numbers as Napoli did last year.

“April 21 (Milan derby) is too far away. We have a big game ahead of us and there are various goals to meet before we think about the derby.”

Harry Kane made little impact as Bayern Munich’s week went from bad to worse following a shock 1-0 loss in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with Lazio.

Ciro Immobile’s second-half penalty proved the difference at Stadio Olimpico to pile pressure on Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel on the back of a damaging 3-0 defeat at title rivals Bayer Leverkusen.

England captain Kane, who is one short of reaching 50 club goals in European competition, barely touched the ball during a tight battle between two former Chelsea managers in the Italian capital.

His side dominated possession before Maurizio Sarri’s men snatched a slender aggregate advantage when Immobile sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way from 12 yards in the 69th minute after Dayot Upamecano was dismissed for a late challenge on Gustav Isaksen.

Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala went closest for the German club, who have plenty to do in the return match at Allianz Arena on March 5.

Bayern arrived in Rome having fallen five points off the pace in the Bundesliga following Saturday’s emphatic loss at Leverkusen.

Under-fire boss Tuchel made three personnel changes in a bid to bounce back, including dropping Eric Dier and recalling Germany internationals Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Muller.

Kimmich curled wide in the opening exchanges before Kane could not keep a close-range effort down following Muller’s pull back, while Luis Alberto lashed over from distance for the side sitting seventh in Serie A.

Former Manchester City forward Sane went close when his 32nd-minute effort whistled past the left post after Leon Goretzka and Muller shifted the angle of a free-kick on the edge of the D.

Musiala then fired over following impressive build-up play as the away side failed to register an attempt on target before the break.

Bayern beat Lazio 6-2 on aggregate as reigning champions at the same stage of the tournament in 2020-21 and were heavy favourites to repeat that feat.

Yet, having been relatively untested defensively, the visitors nearly conceded within three minutes of the restart.

Danish forward Isaksen was sent clear on goal after Bayern centre-back Upamecano was dispossessed by former Liverpool man Alberto, only for his low effort to be repelled by the legs of Neuer.

The six-time European champions were struggling to regain the upper hand and felt aggrieved to fall behind 21 minutes from time during a pivotal moment in the match.

French referee Francois Letexier pointed to the spot and brandished a red card after Upamecano caught Isaksen with his studs inside the box.

Bayern were unhappy with the decision but that did not stop Immobile – fresh from scoring his 200th Serie A goal in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Cagliari – calmly rolling home into the bottom right corner.

Former Tottenham striker Kane saw a long-rang free-kick deflected over as below-par Bayern sought a leveller.

Yet the surprise result could have been worse.

Felipe Anderson and substitute Pedro each went close to doubling Lazio’s lead late on, with Tuchel given plenty to ponder.

Marcus Thuram inspired a strong second-half fightback as Inter Milan extended their lead at the top of Serie A to seven points with a 4-2 win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

Thuram flicked home from a Matteo Darmian cross four minutes after the break then pressured Roma defender Angelino into turning a ball from the left into his own net six minutes later.

Roma pressed desperately for an equaliser, but Inter made sure of the points deep into stoppage time when defender Alessandro Bastoni finished off a swift counter-attack.

Victory allowed Inter to build on their crucial win over title rivals Juventus last week, while it spelled a first defeat for new Roma head coach Daniele De Rossi after three straight wins.

Seeking another win that would send them up to fourth, Roma started with confidence, and Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer had to tip over a shot from Stephan El Shaarawy inside the opening minute.

Matias Pellegrini also came close from distance, but Inter grew into the game and grabbed the lead in the 18th minute when Federico Dimarco’s corner was headed home by Francesco Acerbi.

But Roma were level within 10 minutes when Gianluca Mancini nodded home from a free-kick, with set-plays proving dangerous for both sides in the slippery conditions.

An end-to-end clash saw chances for Dimarco and Paulo Dybala at both ends before the hosts stunned Inter by grabbing the lead moments before the half-time break.

Pellegrini led a sweeping counter-attack that sent the ball out to El Shaarawy on the left flank and his rising shot clattered against both posts before nestling in the net to put Roma 2-1 up.

Inter responded strongly at the start of the second half and it took them only four minutes to level when Thuram met Darmian’s cross with the neatest of finishes.

Angelino was unfortunate to divert the next past his own keeper after 56 minutes and Inter were intent on pressing home their advantage with Benjamin Pavard striking the post with a fine shot moments later.

Roma’s best chance to give an engrossing game one final twist came in the 71st minute when former Inter man Romelu Lukaku was played clean through, but had the ball picked off his feet by the alert Sommer.

It sparked a grandstand finish from the home side with Sommer having to be on his toes again to tip away an effort from Leonardo Spinazzola with six minutes left on the clock.

But Roma’s increasing desperation left holes at the back and the visitors confirmed victory after a thrilling game through the unlikely figure of Bastoni.

England have revealed Marcus Smith could miss the entire Guinness Six Nations because of the calf injury that has ruled him of at least Saturday’s opener against Italy and Wales a week later.

A clearer picture over Smith’s fitness will emerge next week, but in the meantime veteran George Ford has been installed at fly-half for the Stadio Olimpico showdown with Fin Smith deputising from the bench.

Fin Smith is one of five uncapped players in the matchday 23 and should all of them get time on the field, it will be the highest number of new caps awarded in a single match since Stuart Lancaster’s first game in charge in 2012.

Centre Fraser Dingwall and flanker Ethan Roots are included in the starting XV while Smith, back row Chandler Cunningham-South and wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso feature on the bench.

In a boost to England, Alex Mitchell has recovered from a leg wound to take his place at scrum-half, but the player who was expected to partner him at half-back faces an anxious wait to see if he will be involved at all over the coming weeks.

“Marcus will go back to England today (Thursday) and have further investigations later this week. He won’t be available next week,” Borthwick said.

“We’re not sure exactly when. Hopefully he will play in the latter part of the Six Nations, but it will be a number of weeks. We’ll know more next week.”

Mitchell’s immediate prospects of building on becoming first-choice scrum-half at the World Cup were thrown into doubt when he felt unwell as a result of the infected wound he took into England’s camp in Girona, preventing him from training fully until Thursday morning.

“Our medical team took great care of him over the weekend and at start of the week to get the infection under control and he looks brilliant,” Borthwick said.

“He played a lot of minutes for us during the World Cup and has played a lot of time for his club, so he is match sharp and ready to go. He looked fantastic in training today (Thursday).”

Experienced faces such as Ford, Joe Marler and Maro Itoje are present throughout the 23, but the rare inclusion of five debutants indicated the post-2023 World Cup rebuilding phase is under way, even if some of the picks were forced on Borthwick.

Dingwall starts at inside centre having been included in nine previous England squads without winning a cap, giving him the opportunity to prove he is the solution to the team’s problem position.

Although lacking the raw power of the injured Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence, the 24-year-old is a classy runner who is comfortable at 12 or 13.

Roots, a former jiu-jitsu champion who qualifies for England through his father, represented the Maori All Blacks but having left New Zealand in 2021 he has proved a hit at the Ospreys and now Exeter.

If Finn Smith, Cunningham-South and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso join them on the field, it will be an injection of fresh faces not seen for 12 years.

“Each one of those guys has earned his place in the matchday 23. Each one of them is an exciting young player,” Borthwick said.

“I didn’t think I’d be naming a 23 with five debutants. I’ve asked when the last time was England named a 23 with five new caps in it!”

Italy avoided another damaging defeat to North Macedonia to keep their automatic Euro 2024 hopes in their own hands after a 5-2 win in Rome which belied the nerves they suffered in the second half.

The hosts almost squandered a three-goal lead at the interval after Juventus forward Federico Chiesa scored twice to spare Arsenal midfielder Jorginho further agony when he failed to take his shot at redemption from the penalty spot.

It was Jorginho’s last-minute spot-kick miss two years ago in a 1-1 draw against Switzerland which ultimately consigned Italy to a World Cup qualifying play-off and led to North Macedonia’s shock win in Palermo.

But while the 31-year-old, making his first start since June, was fluffing his lines again with the score at 1-0, there was no such profligacy from Chiesa who scored a quick double late in the first half to pave the way for a seemingly comfortable victory.

However, half-time substitute Jani Antonov scored a double of his own to crank up the tension in the Stadio Olimpico before Giacomo Raspadori’s 81st-minute strike eased the nerves and another substitute, Stephan El Shaarawy, scored the fifth in added time.

The win put Luciano Spalletti’s side into second place in Group C and means they now only need a draw against Ukraine in Leverkusen to avoid another dreaded play-off.

It was one-way traffic from the off but Raspadori’s clip past goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski in the 13th minute was ruled out for offside.

Three minutes later Chiesa, who caused Macedonia’s right side numerous problems all night, produced his first key intervention when he collected a return pass from Giacomo Bonaventura and saw his near-post shot denied.

However, from the resulting corner Raspadori’s cross was headed home by Matteo Darmian, his first international goal for eight years.

Chiesa was denied again by defender Jovan Manev before Nikola Serafimov’s handball from Federico Gatti’s close-range header led to Jorginho’s opportunity to banish the memories of two years ago but, having not scored for Italy in three years, he put a poor penalty too close to Dimitrievski.

But Chiesa came to his rescue, drilling home from the edge of the area after Macedonia failed to clear a throw-in from the right and then racing onto a Domenico Berardi through-ball to cut inside on his right foot and see his shot loop up off right-back Manev and over the goalkeeper.

The visitors were missing the injured Aleksandar Trajkovski, who had scored the winner in that play-off against Italy, but appeared to have found another hero in Atanasov.

Introduced for the second half, the 24-year-old scored with their first shot on target with his 52nd-minute header – his first international goal – leading to an unnecessary degree of tension for the hosts.

With 16 minutes remaining the pressure was ratcheted up when Atanasov’s drive from distance took a wicked deflection off Italy defender Franceso Acerbi but Raspadori and substitute El Shaarawy at least ended any fears of the necessity of a must-win final qualifier.

Goals from Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao helped AC Milan make it three consecutive wins with a 2-1 victory over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

Goals at the start of either half by Giroud from the penalty spot and Leao’s spectacular overhead kick put Milan in prime position to make it three wins from a possible three.

Milan looked in cruise control but they were forced to play the last half an hour with 10 men after Fikayo Tomori was shown a red card.

However, Leonardo Spinazzola’s late consolation was not enough as Milan held on to go top of Seria A, while Jose Mourinho’s Roma remain winless.

Milan hit the front with nine minutes on the clock after Ruben Loftus-Cheek was brought down inside the area by Rui Patricio and Giroud stepped up to dispatch from 12 yards.

Milan could have made it two with 22 minutes on the clock but Christian Pulisic’s close-range volley was remarkably tipped over the bar thanks to Patricio’s sharp reflexes.

Roma had a chance just before half-time when Leandro Paredes was brought down outside the area – Lorenzo Pellegrini’s free kick was headed out to Stephan El Shaarawy who fired wide of the target just before the interval.

The visitors doubled their advantage three minutes after the break in outstanding fashion when Davide Calabria swung in a cross and Leao’s overhead kick arrowed straight into the bottom corner via the post to make it 2-0.

Roma were offered a lifeline on the hour mark after Tomori received a second yellow card for bringing Andrea Belotti down outside the area.

Roma went in search of a way back into the encounter and Romelu Lukaku was brought off the bench for his debut after signing on loan from Premier League club Chelsea.

The Belgium striker almost made an instant impact but his effort from outside the area sailed over the crossbar.

The hosts continued to knock on the door but failed to test Mike Maignan as Spinazzola’s audacious effort flew well over the bar.

Roma’s late pressure set up a grandstand finish when Spinazzola’s effort deflected past Maignan and into the net during stoppage time but the hosts were unable to find an equaliser.

Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson ran a season’s best and meet record 21.91 to win the Women’s 200m at the Rome Diamond League at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.

The former Vere Technical star, who also has 400m bronze medals from the 2016 Olympics, 2015, and 2019 World Championships, finished ahead of double Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson-Herah who ran a season’s best of her own with 22.25. 2019 World 200m Champion Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain also ran a season’s best of 22.27 to finish third.

Puerto Rican Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn maintained the stellar form she's shown so far this season by running a meet record and new world-leading 12.37 to win the Women’s 100m hurdles. Jamaican Britany Anderson was right there with Camacho-Quinn up until clipping the final hurdle and stumbling over the line to run 12.50 for second while American 2019 World Champion Nia Ali was third in 12.71.

Grenadian 2011 World and 2012 Olympic 400m Champion Kirani James was also in winning form, running 44.54 to prevail in the Men’s 400m ahead of the USA’s Vernon Norwood (44.81) and Michael Cherry (45.24).

Olympic and World Championship finalist Janieve Russell ran 54.18 for second in the Women’s 400m hurdles behind Dutch Olympic bronze medallist Femke Bol’s season’s best 53.02. Ukraine’s Anna Ryzhykova was third in 54.50.