Belgium needs to shake off some demons from the past in the EURO 2020 quarterfinals against Italy as the Azzurri have dominated the matchup with 14 wins to four in the previous 22 encounters.
With Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard injury doubts for the clash, Italy are favored to progress into the semis. Bookmaker 10Bet has the odds at 1.74 for them to advance and at 2.40 for a full-time victory. The odds are at 2.15 for Belgium to qualify and at 3.35 for a win in 90 minutes.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 1st, 7:30 A.M. (EST)
De Bruyne has played only 182 minutes – around two full matches – at the tournament, but he still sits among the players who have created the most scoring chances, which says it all about his quality.
The Manchester City star makes things click in the final third and he also boasts a great work rate, which sets an example for all of his teammates. He’ll no doubt be a big miss all over the pitch if he can’t recover from an ankle sprain that he suffered in the Round of 16 clash with Portugal.
Roberto Martinez has plenty of talent at his disposal on the bench, but it’s impossible to replace De Bruyne in the lineup without a big drop in quality. He’s tallied seven goals and 13 assists in his last 14 outings for Belgium.
Italy, of course, would be over the moon if they aren’t forced into dealing with De Bruyne, although it looks like nothing can currently stop Roberto Mancini’s men.
Mancini’s team needed extra time against Austria to book a spot in the quarterfinals, but it was another game without a loss for the side and their unbeaten run now stands at 31 straight outings. They can record the third-longest unbeaten streak in international football here by avoiding defeat in 90 minutes.
It’s been a huge run by the Italians that includes 86 goals scored, 26 wins, 23 clean sheets and just eight goals conceded. Austria finally scored against them, but Italy still posted a new world record with a clean sheet streak of 1,168 minutes.
Italy’s defense is so tight that goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnaromma has yet to give up more than one goal while playing for the team and he’s already registered 30 caps. His job currently looks like the easiest in the world.
Matches during the knockout stages tend to get cagey and Italy seems perfectly built for these situations with the team demonstrating efficient scoring and hardly conceding any goals. They can now impress even further against a team that has scored in 34 consecutive outings.
