The cheat sheet: The takeover of an outsider, the decline of a favorite

The game: Italy in control, Belgium against (even led)

Italy made the game Friday in Munich, with good pressing, the quality of his trident pass in the midfield and the volume of his side. Roberto Mancini’s 4-3-3 won the middle battle, facing Roberto Martinez’s 3-4-3. Belgium seemed to accept to suffer, as in eighth against Portugal. But with a different outcome.

Players: Decisive Insignia, Stirring Doku

In the Belgian camp, Jan Vertonghen risks rehashing his crucial lost ball, on the first Italian goal. Kevin De Bruyne, holder while he was uncertain, did not seem too handicapped by his left ankle. But he didn’t have his usual radiance. In the absence of Eden Hazard, Jérémy Doku shone with his power of acceleration and his carelessness, with 8 successful dribbles and a penalty caused.

The X Factor: Spinazzola’s Butt

Shortly after the hour mark, Romelu Lukaku believed he would just have to push the ball into the net, after a good combination between Doku and De Bruyne. The 2-2 was there, under his nose … But he failed to give strength to his shot, which Spinazzola pushed back with his buttocks. The thrill that passed through Italy was proportional to the scene of encouragement that followed in the transalpine ranks.

State: 90% vs 84%

90% of successful passes on the Italian side, 84% on the Belgian side. This testifies to a difference in precision and the physiognomy of the game. The Italians stood out on placed attacks (and rather well), when their opponents used a more direct game and generated more waste.

Le tweet :

Mancini’s statement:

The question: Is Italy now the favorite for the Euro?

She attacked this Euro with a hybrid status. Should she be called an intriguing outsider or a low-key favorite? Italy no longer responds to any of these qualifiers after signing a clear round in the group stage, stepping over the Austrian obstacle and knocking down the Belgian scarecrow. Squadra Azzurra have not lost for 32 games and they can bulge their chest before their semi-final against Spain.

Its collective strength is confirmed. The lower standing of its individualities is becoming more and more questionable, especially since Marco Verratti is regaining form, and while the big cars – France in the first place – are falling like flies around it. La Nazionale has a team head to beat in this last four.

However, Italy suffered a great loss on Friday. That of a stratospheric Spinazzola since the start of the competition and whose injury seems very serious. In front of her, it is another great nation which rises, on the way to the final. A selection that will offer him a very different equation and will probably try to get his hands on the game. This is enough to minimize the sign of favorite No.1 that Mancini and his players could inherit. So much the better for them, as they seem to put up with the reservations expressed about them.

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