Earlier, England made a quick comeback into their opening match against Italy at the Arena Amazonia when Daniel Sturridge equalized from a fine pass from Wayne Rooney. The equalizer came within two minutes after Claudio Marchisio put the Azzurris ahead with a long-range effort in the 35th minute.
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The two former champions went into the interval with the scores tied at 1-1.
Five minutes into the second half, Mario Balloteli made it 2-1. England's Wayne Rooney came very close to the second equaliser in the 62nd minute but his shot narrowly missed the target.
Teams:
England starting XI: Hart, Johnson, Cahill, Jaglielka, Baines, Gerrard, Henderson, Sterling, Rooney, Welbeck and Sturridge Coach: Roy Hodgson
Italy starting XI: Sirigu, Chiellini, Paletta, Barzagli, Darmian, De Rossi, Pirlo, Veratti, Candreva, Marchisio and Balotelli Coach: Cesare Pandrelli
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