Italy has the best defence - Gareth Southgate

England manager Gareth Southgate has come out to say that the Italian defensive organisation is "lthe best despite their failure to qualify for this summer's World Cup.
England face Italy on Tuesday in their final match before Southgate names his squad for Russia and the England boss had nothing but praise for the way they defend ahead of the game.

He said "Italian football, I've always been a huge admirer. The detail with which they play. As a defender, of course, they are the best. The tactical organisation, the detail of marking. The art of defending, because it is an art, in my opinion, and it's often neglected by people and undervalued. But when you see the likes of not only this team, but the teams I played against, Nesta, Cannavaro,  Maldini, the best, the absolute best.  We know to score goals against an Italian team is the toughest possible test. And we know they'll be really well organised and press us well tomorrow. So, it's a really good test for us to see how far we've come."