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Andros Townsend was the hero for England in Turin, coming off the bench to score a stunning equaliser for the Three Lions.
His late goal left a positive taste in the mouth for England but the 1-1 scoreline saw their seven game winning streak come to an end at the Juventus Stadium.
England manager Roy Hodgson chose to start Harry Kane alongside Theo Walcott with Wayne Rooney dropping slightly behind the attacking pair.
Kane and Rooney both started with vigour and intent but Walcott failed to get close to Gianluigi Buffon’s goal because of good defending by Andrea Ronocchia.
Phil Jones, who started at the bottom of a midfield diamond to protect the back four, looked uncomfortable.
Indeed it was Jones who allowed Giorgio Chiellini too much space before the Italian crossed beautifully to Pelle who got above Phil Jagielka to glance past Joe Hart.
Hart was tested again early in the second half but the Manchester City goalkeeper did excellently to deny Citadin Eder.
Rooney came close to equalising for England midway into the second half after he took advantage of a mistake by Chiellini but the striker’s shot, despite being well struck, was straight at Buffon.
England were level on 78 minutes though when Townsend, who had come on only nine minutes earlier, struck a beautiful right-footed effort that arrowed past Buffon and into the top corner.
So who were the stand out players in Turin? We rate them...
Show all 27 1 /27Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Gianluigi Buffon Well beaten in the first half when Rooney’s shot rattled against the crossbar. Difficult to criticise him for not stopping Townsend’s rasping effort. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Andrea Ranocchia Very effective in stifling the early runs of Walcott. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Leonardo Bonucci Experienced defender but he did find himself being put under pressure by Kane and Rooney, a combination different to the one he came up against in the World Cup. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Giorgio Chiellini Showed quick feet to send Jones the wrong way before he played a superb cross for Pelle to put Italy into the lead. Nearly embarrassed by Rooney though after misjudging the flight of the ball to let the England striker in. 7
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Alessandro Florenzi Exceptional performance while he was on the pitch. Strong and effective, he rarely made a mistake. 7
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Marco Parolo Played the entire 90 minutes and started to fade with 20 minutes to go as England attacked. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Mirko Valdifiori Yet another impressive performance from the 28-year-old who has been exceptional for Empoli this season. 7
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Roberto Soriano Similar to Parolo, he played the entire match and looked jaded midway into the second half. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Matteo Darmian Powerful on the left wing. Clyne found it difficult to track him. 7
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Graziano Pelle Used his sharpness to get ahead of Jagielka before he cleverly glanced his header beyond Hart. 7
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Citadin Eder Took a wild free-kick in the first half which went well over Hart’s goal. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Best off the bench: Franco Vasquez Made his international debut but it’s one that he won’t want to remember too much as he failed to worry England’s defence when he came on. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Joe Hart Beaten by a clever Pelle header. He made a fantastic reaction save to deny Eder in the second half. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Chris Smalling A largely uninspiring match from the Manchester United defender before he was replaced by Carrick. The two long balls that found the Juventus Stadium crowd won’t have impressed Arsene Wenger, who is supposedly interested in the young centre half. 5
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Phil Jagielka Did excellently to clear the ball when it looked as though Eder would tap home Darmian’s cross in the first half. Could be argued that he should have got closer to Pelle for Italy’s opener. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Kieran Gibbs Lost a lot of bite when he was booked after just 30 minutes. He should have done better when a neat pass from Rooney allowed the Arsenal left-back time to compose himself but he could only shoot wide of Buffon’s goal. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Jordan Henderson Often went missing as England moved further up the pitch. He did tidy up well in the second half and he looks more and more composed each time the midfielder plays for either club and country. Replaced by Mason in the second half. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Phil Jones Uncomfortable in the first half. He gave Chiellini far too much time on the ball in the build up to Pelle’s opening goal. He settled down somewhat when he was put back in defence when Smalling was brought off and made a good tackle to stop Immobile getting further towards Hart’s goal in the second half. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Fabian Delph Again, as he did against Lithuania, he was chosen by Hodgson to start. Although he proved to be no lethal weapon here, he did hold the midfield together well. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Wayne Rooney Hit the bar in the first half. Connected the midfield and the attack effectively. Supplied Walcott with a superb cross. Should have done better with chances in the second half. 7
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Theo Walcott His first start for England in 18 months. His runs on the left were poor and rarely did he cause the Italian defence any problems. He was replaced by Barkley on 55 minutes. 5
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Harry Kane Against the likes of Chiellini and Bonucci, it was always going to be a little more difficult for the Tottenham striker than it was against Lithuania. He should be happy with his contribution, though. He linked up well Rooney too. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Off the bench: Michael Carrick Replaced Smalling. His presence was reassuring in the centre of midfield - just as it was against Lithuania. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Off the bench: Kyle Walker His energy provided the England attack with a different dimension late on in the second half. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Off the bench: Ryan Mason Made his debut when he came on for Henderson on 74 minutes. He provided the assist for Townsend’s goal. 6
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Andros Townsend Equalised fantastically with a beautifully struck right-footed effort that arrowed past Buffon. 7
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Italy 1 England 1 player ratings Off the bench: Ross Barkley He produced a terrific performance when he came on for Walcott with 35 minutes remaining. He sat directly behind Rooney and Kane and orchestrated a number of England’s attacks as Hodgson’s side went for the winner. 7
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