Mason Mount hit the bar in an entertaining first half of the UEFA Nations League clash, while England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale made two brilliant saves.

 

A quieter second 45 minutes saw both sides take several shots from distance but neither could find the back of the net and the result leaves England bottom of their group after three matches ahead of Hungary's visit to Molineux on Tuesday night. 

 

England could have been a goal behind inside two minutes after a subtle pass from Manuel Locatelli put Davide Frattesi through on goal, but the Sassuolo forward's shot drifted wide of the left post.

 

Gianluigi Donnarumma put his team under pressure two minutes later, giving the ball away to Tammy Abraham after Mount's aggressive press. 

 

However, the Serie A star could not capitalise and fired his shot into the side netting. 

 

Mount was lively and hit the bar with a thunderous effort after being found on the penalty spot by a breaking Raheem Sterling, who was captain for the night with Harry Kane rested. 

 

And as the 20-minute mark approached, Declan Rice saw a volley from an England corner sail over Donnarumma's goal. 

 

Five minutes later and against the run of play, Ramsdale made a world-class save with his right foot from Sandro Tonali's close-range shot. Tonali was found at the far post after Giovanni Di Lorenzo's ferocious cut-back from the right. 

 

With six minutes remaining of the half, Mount took another shot on goal, though this time his curling attempt found its way straight into the gloves of Donnarumma. 

Then just a minute later, Italy could have scored again when Matteo Pessina found striker Gianluca Scamacca on the edge of the six-yard box. 

 

The physically imposing Italian had a clear shot on goal, though his attempt was poorly-hit and went well over the crossbar. 

 

Italy had grown into the game and, in the 43rd minute, forced another good save from Ramsdale, who tipped Pessina's shot over the woodwork. 

 

The half ended with an Italian onslaught on the England goal but Ramsdale managed to hold onto Tonali's shot from distance to end the half and keep the score at 0-0. 

 

After the break, Sterling should have converted Reece James' low and driven cross from the right flank but the Manchester City winger could not control his shot and sent it over the bar. 

James Ward-Prowse had a shot on goal from 30-yards, but Donnarumma watched as it went wide of the right post, while substitute Kalvin Phillips hit the post from close range in the closing stage. 

 

And the Three Lions looked to be launching an exciting break with a minute remaining of the game, but Tonali's tactical foul stopped it, and the resulting free-kick came to nothing. 

 

England (4-2-3-1): 1 Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal); 2 Reece James (Chelsea), 5 Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), 6 Harry Maguire (Manchester United), 3 Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United); 4 Declan Rice (West Ham United), 8 James Ward-Prowse (Southampton); 10 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) (c), 11 Mason Mount (Chelsea), 7 Jack Grealish (Manchester City); 9 Tammy Abraham (A.S. Roma) 

 

Substitutes: 17 Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) for Mount 64', 20 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur F.C.) for Abraham 64', 18 Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United) for Rice 64', 23 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) for Sterling 79', 15 Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace) for Tomori 87' 

 

Substitutes not used: 12 John Stones (Manchester City), 13 Nick Pope (Burnley), 14 Kyle Walker (Manchester City), 16 Conor Coady (Wolverhampton Wanderers), 19 Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), 21 Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), 22 Jordan Pickford (Everton) 

 

Cautions: Grealish 28', Ward-Prowse 81' 

 

Manager: Gareth Southgate 

 

Italy (4-3-3): 1 Gianluigi Donnarumma; 2 Giovanni Di Lorenzo, 3 Federico Gatti, 15 Francesco Acerbi, 13 Federico Dimarco; 21 Davide Frattesi, 5 Manuel Locatelli, 8 Sandro Tonali; 12 Matteo Pessina, 9 Gianluca Scamacca, 10 Lorenzo Pellegrini, 

 

Substitutes: 23 Sebastiano Esposito for Pellegrini 64', 11 Wilfried Gnonto for Locatelli 64', 22 Giacomo Raspadori for Scamacca 77', 16 Bryan Cristante for Dimarco 87', 7 Alessandro Florenzi for Pessina 

 

Substitutes not used: 4 Luiz Felipe, 6 Davide Calabria, 14 Pierluigi Gollini, 17 Matteo Politano, 18 Nicolò Barella, 19 Giorgio Scalvini, 20 Alex Meret 

 

Cautions: Locatelli 25', Gatti 48', Tonali 90' 

 

Manager: Roberto Mancini