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England must play their Nations League game against Italy behind closed doors at Wembley next June – as punishment for crowd trouble at the Euro 2020 final between the teams.
Gareth Southgate’s side made it to the final of the delayed showpiece event in July but were beaten on home turf by the Azzurri in a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw.
The Wembley final was marred by ugly scenes in the stands, outside, and on the concourses, and UEFA hit the English Football Association with a two-game ban on supporters as punishment in October, with the first closure to take place in England’s next UEFA game.
The second closure was suspended for a probationary two-year period, while the FA received a €100,000 (£85,000) fine.
The Italy fixture on June 11 is England’s next competitive UEFA home game and will be a rematch of the final and a chance for the hosts to gain a degree of revenge, but they will not have the boost of their supporters at the ground.
England’s Nations League opponents were revealed on Thursday, with the Three Lions drawn against Germany and Hungary as well as Italy.
Southgate’s team must also play in an empty stadium away from home in their opening match on June 4 against Hungary.
The Hungarians were served with a three-match behind-closed-doors order – one of which was suspended – following incidents at the Puskas Arena and in Munich at Euro 2020. That has since been reduced to two matches, with one game suspended.
The Three Lions’ other two June fixtures are away against Germany on June 7 and at home to Hungary – with supporters allowed at Wembley – on June 14.
England then do not play in the competition again until a trip to Italy on September 23 before hosting Germany three days later.
