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"I knew you got better. I didn’t know you turned into this."

Demien’s grin broke through despite how hard he was still breathing, and he reached out and tapped Adriano once against the chest before England and Italy split toward their separate dressing rooms.

Adriano’s smile didn’t quite erase what sat underneath it.

He glanced back toward Italy’s door, jaw tightening for a second, still trailing 3-1 whatever admiration he carried for the man who’d done it to them.

The dressing room hit Demien like a wall of noise the moment he walked in.

Bellingham was still laughing, shaking his head at nothing in particular.

Rashford reached over and knocked a hand against the top of Demien’s head as he passed toward his seat.

Kane stood near the wall screen, pointing at the three scorer lines still displayed there.

Rice dropped into the seat beside Demien and just shook his head once, no words needed.

Demien’s chest was still heaving, sweat running down the side of his face, and his leg wouldn’t stop bouncing while he drank — three goals in ten minutes hadn’t finished working its way out of his system yet.

Southgate cut through it fast.

"Right — quiet," he said, and the room settled.

He didn’t mention the hat-trick.

He put Italy’s opening goal back up on the screen instead, freezing it with Berardi tucked inside, Di Lorenzo overlapping past Rashford and Trippier, Frattesi attacking the near post, Scamacca arriving free behind him.

Then he ran a second clip — the same crossing position, Di Lorenzo reaching it again later in the half.

"The scoreline changed because we finished better," Southgate said. "It didn’t change this. They’ve gotten to that spot twice already. We are not chasing a fourth goal in the second half — we’re stopping them from getting a second."

He turned to Demien directly. "You’re not attacking every opening like you need another one. Jude’s the one bursting beyond Harry now. You sit with Declan, you control it, you protect the space when Jude goes, and you only go yourself when the lane’s completely clean."

Demien nodded, no argument in it.

Three goals were three goals.

Qualification mattered more than a fourth.

"Marcus, stay ready behind Di Lorenzo — they’ll take more risks the longer they’re behind," Southgate went on. "Phil, Udogie can’t receive with room to run at you again. Kyle, Kieran — one of you goes forward at a time, not both. Harry, you’re still the release valve if their press traps us centrally."

Nobody needed the instructions repeated.

Italy came out for the second half looking for an immediate answer.

In the forty-sixth minute, Barella received centrally and found Udogie already advancing on Italy’s left.

Foden tracked late.

Udogie played it inside to Frattesi, then kept running outside Walker.

Frattesi returned it into Udogie’s path.

Demien had started moving toward Barella, then caught Frattesi continuing through the center after releasing the ball and changed direction, tracking Frattesi instead of chasing Udogie down the touchline.

Udogie entered the left side of England’s box, looking for the cutback.

Demien reached the passing lane to Frattesi before the ball did.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「N’Golo Kanté — Everywhere at Once」 「STATS ACTIVE」 「Acceleration: 99 | Reactions: 99 | Interceptions: 94」

Udogie was forced to keep going toward the byline and tried a tighter cross instead.

Stones cleared it at the near post.

Demien turned straight to Foden. "He can’t get that return completely free," he said, pointing at where Udogie had been.

"Got it," Foden said, dropping several yards deeper the next time Italy built.

England regained possession in the forty-eighth minute, Pickford finding Stones.

Italy pressed, Scamacca curving his run toward Rice, Barella closing Demien, Frattesi positioning himself for the return lane.

Stones found Demien anyway.

Barella arrived against his back.

This time Demien didn’t try to reproduce a first-half dribble.

He shielded it, released to Rice, and moved into a cleaner angle.

「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 「Press Resistant」

Rice returned it.

Demien saw Italy’s midfield starting to chase and deliberately slowed the next action instead of forcing anything toward Rashford early.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Toni Kroos — Metronome」

Rice to Walker.

Walker’s return to Demien.

Demien switched it through Stones toward Trippier, dragging Italy from one side of the pitch to the other.

England kept it for the better part of thirty seconds.

The Wembley crowd’s reaction shifted — less the eruption of the hat-trick, more a rising, satisfied applause as Italy were made to chase and England settled into control.

"He’s playing a completely different game now," the commentator said. "Before the break he was attacking every gap Italy gave him. Now he’s sitting much closer to Rice, and it’s making England far harder to counter."

Italy broke England’s rhythm in the fifty-first minute, Cristante intercepting a Foden pass and releasing Barella.

Barella looked immediately toward Scamacca.

Scamacca dropped away from Maguire, received outside the box, and turned onto his left foot.

Demien tried to close from the side but didn’t reach him before the shot went off.

Pickford dived and gathered it.

Demien turned toward Foden, caught himself before shouting — the turnover had come from an ambitious pass, not laziness — and just waved for the reset instead.

England attacked through Rashford in the fifty-third minute, Rice winning a header off a long Donnarumma clearance.

Demien got underneath the second ball with Barella closing, took one touch toward Rice, received the return, and found Bellingham between Italy’s midfield lines.

「MATCH MISSION PROGRESS」 「Pressure-Release Actions: 6/6」

Bellingham turned and drove straight at Italy’s defensive line.

Rashford broke behind Di Lorenzo.

Kane pinned Acerbi centrally.

Bellingham tried the early pass to Rashford, but Scalvini stretched across and deflected it out for a throw.

In the fifty-fifth minute, Italy committed numbers forward again.

Di Lorenzo advanced.

Berardi came inside.

Frattesi broke beyond Rice.

Demien started tracking Frattesi.

Berardi found Di Lorenzo outside.

Di Lorenzo sent the low ball toward Scamacca.

Stones reached it first and cleared to the edge of the box.

Barella attacked the second ball.

Demien peeled off Frattesi, closed Barella before the shot could go off, and knocked it toward Bellingham.

「TRAIT ACTIVATED」 「Ball Winner」 「MATCH MISSION PROGRESS」 「Defensive Recoveries: 5/4」

He didn’t carry it himself.

Bellingham collected and drove straight through the center while Italy’s midfield was still upfield.

Demien followed for a few strides, then stopped deliberately around the center circle — England already had Bellingham, Rashford, Kane and Foden committed to the attack, and his job was to stay behind it.

Bellingham drew Scalvini toward him.

Rashford started outside Di Lorenzo and cut diagonally into the space behind.

Bellingham released him at the right moment.

Rashford took it on the left side of the attacking third.

Di Lorenzo recovered but couldn’t get goal-side.

Rashford cut inside onto his right foot.

Acerbi began stepping across.

Rashford shot before the lane closed, and the ball beat Donnarumma into the far side.

England 4 — 1 ItalyMarcus Rashford 57’ (Assist: Jude Bellingham)

Rashford sprinted toward the Wembley crowd with both arms wide.

Bellingham reached him first.

Kane and Foden followed.

Demien arrived last because he’d stayed behind the counter, wrapping Rashford up in a quick embrace before pointing back toward England’s own half — Italy were already lining up to restart.

"He didn’t get anywhere near that goal contribution-wise," the commentator said, "and that’s exactly the point. He won the second phase and then deliberately stayed behind the transition while Bellingham carried it forward. That’s a completely different job than the one he was doing twenty minutes ago."

In Italy’s bench area, the replay ran again, and this time Adriano’s reaction wasn’t about another goal.

He noticed where Demien had stopped during the counter.

The player who’d scored three times in ten minutes had a clear run at a fourth goal and chose to hold his position instead, protecting England’s lead rather than chasing his own number.

Adriano leaned back slowly and shook his head again, something different in it this time.

Italy answered immediately in the fifty-ninth minute, El Shaarawy combining with Udogie on the left.

Barella ran toward England’s box.

Demien tracked him.

Udogie cut inside and shot from outside the area.

Pickford gathered it after one bounce.

Demien took several seconds walking rather than sprinting back, controlling his breathing after a punishing opening quarter of an hour.

England held possession again in the sixty-first minute, Demien receiving from Maguire with Barella pressing.

He played around the pressure through Walker and Rice instead of forcing anything risky.

Cristante eventually stepped toward Bellingham.

Demien saw Kane drop behind Cristante and tried the vertical pass.

Acerbi stepped forward and cut it out.

Italy countered instantly, Frattesi carrying through the middle.

Demien turned and sprinted alongside him.

Frattesi tried to release Berardi.

Demien stretched across the lane and got enough contact to slow it.

Walker reached the ball before Berardi could.

Around the sixty-third minute, Italy made their real changes — Bastoni on for Acerbi, Dimarco on for Udogie, Kean on for Scamacca.

Bastoni immediately started carrying farther from center-back, giving Italy another progressive passer.

Dimarco took a higher starting position than Udogie had, a stronger crossing threat straight away.

Kean stayed tight to England’s back line rather than dropping toward midfield the way Scamacca had.

Demien clocked it during the restart.

"Watch Kean — he’s staying on your shoulder now," he told Stones. "And Dimarco’s going to put crosses in early, quicker than Udogie did."

"Got it," Rice said.

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