Harry Kane became England’s all-time record goalscorer with his 54th goal as they opened their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a first victory in Italy since 1961.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker wrote his name into the history books when he sent Italy goalkeeper Donnarumma the wrong way from the penalty spot in the 44th minute for his 54th goal, overtaking previous record holder Wayne Rooney.
It was his ninth goal in his last nine Euros qualifying games.
Declan Rice had given England an early lead when he scored from close range in Naples.
The Azzurris were whistled off at half-time by the home fans in their first international match in Naples for a decade.
They improved as England became sloppy in the second half of the encounter with debutant Mateo Retegui the beneficiary of some poor work from Harry Maguire.
Maguire failed in his attempt to close down the danger on the edge of the box and allowed the Italians to shift the ball to the 23-year-old to drill the ball past Jordan Pickford after 56 minutes.
England’s drop in performance was compounded by Luke Shaw’s second yellow card with 10 minutes left but they hung on for a vital win.