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Revealed: Bonucci set to captain Italy against England

Revealed: Bonucci set to captain Italy against England

  • Jordan Russell (@JordRuss96)
AC Milan central defender Leonardo Bonucci will wear the captain’s armband tonight for Italy as they take on England at Wembley Stadium in London. The 30-year-old will be tasked with leading the team out on to the pitch instead of Gianluigi Buffon, who will take his place on the substitutes bench.
 
It will be another especially poignant evening for everyone associated with Italian football, with a minute’s silence due to be held before kick-off in memory of the recently deceased Fiorentina captain Davide Astori.
 
Here are tonight’s predicted starting XIs, in full:
 
England (3-4-3): Butland; Walker, Stones, Mawson; Trippier, Dier, Henderson, Young; Sterling, Vardy, Alli.
 
Italy (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Florenzi, Bonucci, Rugani, Darmian; Pellegrini, Jorginho, Parolo; Candreva, Immobile, Insigne.
 
Meanwhile, according to the latest reports from Tuttosport, this could prove to be Luigi Di Biagio’s final match in charge of the senior team, with former AC Milan and Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti waiting in the wings to take over.