This Friday evening, Belgium will face Italy in Munich in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020. A match that promises to be difficult and in which the Belgians are putting a lot of hope after their previous victory against Portugal. For Jonathan Lange, head of sports at the Last Hour, and Jean-Marc Gheraille, editor-in-chief, Belgium’s chances are real, despite the potential absences of Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard.
“I have the impression that there has been a bluff from Roberto Martinez since the match against Portugal. (…) I think that, in any case, one of the two will be present on the pitch tonight, we pamper them until the end. It will surely be KDB, I think his injury is less serious than you might think. But Belgium showed a new face against Portugal, that of a team capable of defending collectively, which has not happened so often. It is true that if our two stars are absent, it can complicate things, but there can be real surprises on the bench of the substitutes. Italians may not be waiting for some players“, begins Jean-Marc Gheraille.”There are not enough certainties for this match, it will be played on details. But I think the Italians are very afraid of Romelu Lukaku, who was the best player in the Italian league. I hope they will not play physical but rather technical “, he continues.
For his part, Jonathan Lange predicts a very close and very long meeting. “The scenario of a match is never written in advance. Italy is a real collective, it works like a real club and that’s what is difficult to set up, but Roberto Mancini has succeeded. It’s an unbeaten team for 31 games, it’s very strong“. Despite everything, the sports chief remains positive thanks to the evolution of the game of the Red Devils since the 2018 World Cup.”Today we are less romantic and more pragmatic, more defensive. We know what happened in front of the France team, we will not go back on it. This change was made by force of circumstances because Eden Hazard, who was the playmaker in 2018, was often injured. Roberto Martinez has adapted, because what does it take to win a tournament? You need a very good center-forward and a goalkeeper, we have them with Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois. This is what Roberto Martinez relied on.”
The last victory of the Devils against Portugal reassures Jonathan Lange even more about the chances of the Devils tonight. “The Belgians suffered against Portugal, but it is precisely a benchmark match that proves that we have evolved. It is a meeting which reassures and which will mark a generation“.
“Whether we produce a good game to beat Italy or even to reach the final and win it, I don’t care. As long as we win, we will be European champion. I think our real chance to be champion was in 2018. We had beaten Brazil, we should have beaten France. Here we will have to beat Italy, one big piece, then surely Spain and England two other big pieces. So if we are European champion, we will not have stolen it “, for his part concluded Jean-Marc Gheraille.
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