Shortly after Spain battle Switzerland for a spot in the semi finals, Italy take on Belgium in the biggest clash of the quarter finals tonight.
Both teams progressed to the round of 16 unbeaten, picking up 9 points across their three games. The two giants have one more thing in common, their defensive record in the tournament. Both teams have only conceded one goal so far, with Italy breaking their streak of clean sheets in their round of 16 match against Austria.
It is an extremely difficult match to call, and both teams field fearsome attacks. For Italy, the firepower will be mainly brought by Ciro Immobile, Domenico Berardi and Lorenzo Insigne. Manuel Locatelli will also be one to keep eyes on, due to his amazing performances throughout the group stages.
For Belgium, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carrasco and Eden Hazard will be expected to bring the attacking spark. They overcame the bigger hurdle in their last game against defending champions Portugal, and will surely ride the momentum heading into the big match.
The midfield battle will be the most interesting, with Marco Verratti, Jorginho and Locatelli going up against Belgium’s Axel Witsel and Youri Tielemans. Belgium will be expected to field their usual 3-4-3, while Roberto Mancini will surely stick to the Italian 4-3-3.
Defenses win titles, and as the stats show, both of them have had tremendous defensive records in the Euros. With that considered, the two teams have enough potential to put on a great show for the fans tonight. The match will surely be won by fine margins.
