Thorgan Hazard fired Belgium into the last eight with a stunning goal to knock holders Portugal out in the round of 16. The victory came at a cost, however, as Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard were both taken off nursing injuries, but the Red Devils' fourth win and third clean sheet of the tournament mean they will be confident regardless of whether that star duo recover in time.
Italy arrive in equally buoyant mood after extending their unbeaten sequence to a national record of 31 games, although they had to dig deep to overcome Austria 2-1 in extra time in the last round. Like Belgium, the Azzurri have won every game so far at EURO 2020 – and the victors in this tie will set a new record for the longest run of victories in the competition, qualifying included, as reported by UEFA.com
Predicted line-ups
Belgium: Courtois; Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Vertonghen; Meunier , Witsel, Tielemans, T. Hazard; De Bruyne, Lukaku, Carrasco
Out: Castagne
Doubtful: E. Hazard, De Bruyne
Misses next match if booked: Alderweireld, T. Hazard, Vermaelen
Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Chiesa, Immobile, Insigne
Misses next match if booked: Barella, Di Lorenzo, Pessina
Venue: Allianz Arena, Munich.
BEL vs ITA My Dream11 Team
Thibaut Courtois; Leonardo Spinazzola, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Thomas Meunier; Jorginho, Youri Tielemans, Thorgan Hazard; Lorenzo Insigne, Romelu Lukaku (VC), Ciro Immobile (C)
Captain: Ciro Immobile (ITA), Vice-Captain: Romelu Lukaku (BEL)
View from the camps
Roberto Martínez, Belgium coach: "Italy will attack from the very first second; they will be very structured and dynamic. Every player knows his role. The game against Portugal was a game that could have been played a lot further down the line; usually players don't play these physical and intense games at this stage of the tournament. Luckily, we have enough days to recover and prepare."
Giorgio Chiellini, Italy captain: "We don’t need to look for motivation for these kind of games, because adrenaline will do everything as soon as we step out on the pitch. I think it will be a match between two great sides and small details will likely make all the difference. We have a great deal of respect for [Romelu] Lukaku because he had a great season at Inter and he became a dominant player. But it's almost an insult to only talk about Lukaku when you see how many quality players that Belgium have."
