Giacomo Raspadori fired Italy to a 1-0 win over England on Friday which kept alive their hopes of making the Nations League final four but condemned England to relegation.
Napoli striker Raspadori decided an otherwise uninspiring encounter with a superb second half strike at the San Siro to keep the European champions two points behind League A, Group 3 leaders Hungary.
Roberto Mancini’s side face Hungary in Budapest on Monday and will make the final four with a win, which would be a small boost for the Azzurri after missing out on their second straight World Cup.
England will be in Qatar in November but defeat in Milan sent Gareth Southgate’s side down to League B after another flat display in which they barely created anything.
England knew that a defeat would send them down but despite dominating the ball their difficulties creating chances continued, with Harry Kane blasting over from distance their highlight from an uneventful first half.
There was little to recommend about the spectacle served up by both sides after the break apart from Raspadori’s 68th-minute winner, the game’s only true touch of class.
The 22-year-old brilliantly brought down Leonardo Bonucci’s long pass and easily skipped round Kyle Walker before whipping home a beautiful shot from the edge of the area.
The introduction of Jack Grealish for Bukayo Saka did little to improve England’s creativity but Gianluigi Donnarumma pulled off a pair of smart saves in quick succession to deny Harry Kane with 13 minutes remaining.
And it was Italy who should have doubled their lead in the closing stages when Manolo Gabbiadini fluffed a one-on-one with Pope before Federico Dimarco saw his shot clip out off the post.
England kept pressing for a leveller but solid Italy defending made sure that the hosts held out and gave themselves something to play against Hungary.
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In the other game on the night, a superb first-half stiletto kick from striker Adam Szalai gave Hungary a 1-0 away win over Germany at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena on Friday.
The win cemented Hungary’s position on top of the group standings, with the unbeaten side only needing a draw in their final match away against Italy to secure top spot.
Szalai, who plies his trade at Swiss side Basel after a career which took him to five different Bundesliga sides, won Hungary a corner, forcing an intervention from Real Madrid centre-back Antonio Ruediger.
Leipzig midfielder boomeranged the corner goalwards, before Szalai skillfully clipped the ball into the net with his heel.
Germany had just one chance in the first half when Bayern forward Thomas Mueller lept high to meet Leipzig wing-back David Raum’s cross, but the ball was headed directly at Hungary keeper Peter Gulacsi.
Flick removed Munich forward Serge Gnabry at half-time for West Ham right back Thilo Kehrer, with the Bayern forward’s stuttering club form carrying through to the international arena.
The change freed up Gladbach’s Jonas Hoffmann, who started at right back, into his familiar attacking midfielder position.
The switch almost paid immediate dividends, with Hoffmann setting up Mueller to score an apparent equaliser, but the goal was correctly ruled out for a narrow offside against the Gladbach captain.
Germany continued to grow into the game, with Bayern forward Joshua Kimmich, Germany’s best on the night, inches away from a long-range equaliser in the 60th minute.
Despite the home side’s dominance in possession, Hungary remained dangerous on the counter, with only the fingertips of Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen stopping Martin Adam from doubling the visitors’ lead after 72 minutes.
In the dying stages, Kimmich went close again with a skimming shot from the edge of the box on the 86th-minute mark, but the ball bounced wide of the left-hand post.
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