Euro 2020 Highlights Belgium 1-2 Italy: Mancini's men hang on to one-goal lead and advance to the semis; will face Spain

Euro 2021: Get live commentary, updates of the EURO 2020 quarterfinal match between Belgium and Italy at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.

Updated : Jul 03, 2021 15:42 IST

Lorenzo Insigne celebrates after scoring his side's second goal.
Lorenzo Insigne celebrates after scoring his side's second goal.
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Lorenzo Insigne celebrates after scoring his side's second goal.

Read Sportstar's commentary of EURO 2020's quarterfinal between Belgium and Italy at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

That's all for today!! Thanks for tuning in!! Goodnight!!

ANALYSIS:

MATCH REPORT: EURO 2020: Italy edges past Belgium 2-1 to set up Spain semifinal

Italy continues its winning run and this time, it has defeated the number-one ranked team in the world to qualify for the Euro 2020 semifinals where it will face Spain.

Despite no goals in the second half, the qualify of football did not take a dip as Belgium tried to get back into the match and Italy tried to solidify its one-goal lead.

In the end, Italy protected its one goal lead and defeated Belgium to further advance in the tournament.

FULL TIME (Belgium 1 Italy 2)

ITS OVER!!!! ITALY HAS DONE IT. IT QUALIFIES TO THE SEMIFINALS AND WILL FACE SPACE!!

90+7 CORNER!!!! LAST CHANCE FOR BELGIUM!!

90+4' Italy moments away from qualifying!!

90+2' Donnarumma who seems to have injured his fingers, is up now. Play resumes.

FIVE MINUTES OF ADDED TIME!!

90' De Bruyne will retake his freekick after his first effort was blocked by Berardi who wasn't anywhere near 10 yards. Berardi sees a yellow

88' Italy's half is flooded by Belgian players right now as the home team is desperately trying to score a late equaliser.

84' SHOT- It is Doku again as he dances inside Italy's defence, goes past Chiellini and Jorginho and takes a shot from the edge of its penalty-area. It is high and doesn't work Donnarumma at all.

82' Time running out for the Belgians with just under 10 minutes remaining. It cannot complain of the lack of chances. It has had plenty.

79' CHANGES- Italy's Emerson Palmieri and Domenico Berardi replaces Leonardo Spinazzola and Lorenzo Insigne.

79' Spinazzola is carried off the pitch on a stretcher. Never a nice sight.

77' What is happening? It is Italy's Leonardo Spinazzola who has pulled a muscled now while chasing for the ball. He immediately signals for a change. Such a shame. He has been great for the Azzuri.

74' CHANGES- For Italy, Andrea Belotti and Bryan Cristante comes on for Ciro Immobile and Marco Verratti, who is on a yellow card. For Belgium, Nacer Chadli is replaced by Denis Praet.

72' It seems like Chadli has pulled a muscle minutes after coming on as a sub. This doesn't look good for Belgium.

71' CLOSE- Nacer Chadli delivers a low cross from the left into the box, which is deflected. Lukaku and Hazard at the far post, cannot connect with the ball. 

69' CHANGES- Nacer Chadli and Dries Mertens in for Thomas Meunier and Youri Tielemans.

69' SHOT- Insigne asking the questions yet again as he curls a shot from the left flank after cutting outside the Belgian defence. It was a comfortable save by Courtois.

66' WIDE- Spinazzola, one of Italy's standout performers, receives Insigne's cross from the left but his volley is not on target.

63' SAVE- Barella slips a ball to Chiesa whose cross is guided away from goal by Courtois.

61' SO CLOSE- Belgium inches away from equalising. De Bruyne with a wonderful low-cross from the left, which found Lukaku, but the forward fails to convert from point-blank range. Spinazzola with a match-saving block there. Lukaku really should have scored there. Huge chance missed.

57' NO PENALTY- Jorginho goes down inside Belgium's box after a challenge from De Bruyne. Italy cries penalty but referee says nothing doing.

56' Doku is one of Belgium's positive players. This time he goes past Verratti from the byline but his cross is a poor one. Donnarumma collects easily.

52' CLOSE-  Great play by Italy once again. Barella collects the ball from deep and feeds Chiesa to the right. Chiesa's cross almost finds Immobile's boots.

47' Italy not allowing Belgium to set defensively. Mancini's instructions at half-time seem clear- more the same please.

45' No half-time changes by either managers!!

SECOND HALF UNDERWAY!!!

What a half ladies and gentlemen. The match started with a nice tempo with both teams showing attacking intent.

Italy's seemed to be on its way to victory after great goals by Barella and Insigne, but a silly penalty conceded just before half time brought Belgium back into the game as Lukaku converted from the spot.

Stay tuned for the second half!!!

HALF-TIME (BELGIUM 1 - ITALY 2)

45+2' GOOAAALLL!! LUKAKU CONVERTS THE PENALTY TO PULL ONE BACK FOR BELGIUM!!

45' PENALTY!!! DI LORENZO FOULS DOKU INSIDE THE BOX. A SILLY CHALLENGE TO SAY THE LEAST. Doku does well to shield the ball from Di Lorenzo but the Italian lost patience and ended up with a reckless challenge on Doku, which led to the penalty. VAR checked it and confirmed the referee's decision.

44' GOOOAAALLLLLLL!!!! ITALY DOUBLES IT LEAD AND THIS TIME, ITS INSIGNE WITH HIS TRADEMARK SHOT!!!  The shot had goal written over it as soon as it left Insigne's feet. Barella passed it to Lorenzo, who cut inside Tielemans and rocketed the ball with precision to the top-right corner of Courtois' goal.

40' SHOT- A good effort by Federico Chiesa as he curled one with his right after getting the ball from an Italian corner. It wasn't too far away, which was evident by Courtois' dive at full-stretch.

36' Despite starting out as the stronger side, it's all Italy right now. However, stats are with Belgium as it has scored in its last 34 matches. Martinez's men last failed to score against France in its 1-0 loss in 2018's World Cup semifinal.

31' GOOOAALLLLLL!!!! ITALY SCORES!! BARELLA WITH A BEAUTIFUL GOAL!!! It wasn't a goal Belgium should have conceded as Martinez's men reacted too slowly as Italy took a quick freekick. Barella showed great feet inside Belgium's half, got past Thorgan Hazard and Thomas Vermaelen, and tucked his shot away past Courtois into his far post.

27' Italy with a counter this time. Chiesa cuts in from the left and takes a shot, which deflected and spun, but thankfully ended up in Courtois' grateful arms.

26' SAVE- Its Donnarumma again with the save from Lukaku's shot. Belgium countered beautifully as De Bruyne got away with a wonderful turn. He passed to Lukaku, who took a shot at the far-post after some Ronaldo-esque stepovers. Donnarumma equal to it. 

22' GREAT SAVE- De Bruyne burst forward and blasted a shot with his left after cutting in. Donnarumma with a brilliant save at full-stretch.

20' BOOKING- Marco Verratti sees a yellow card for his challenge on Youri Tielemans. Verratti safe from suspension for now as he isn;t one of the previously booked player for Italy.

18' Belgium has come back hard after the goal-scare. It hasn't posed any substantial threat but radiating a good vibe with its play. The Italians are not sitting back as well. Great game.

17' Not even 20 minutes into the game and it has already seen a goal overturned. It is perfectly poised for a cracker of a match.

14' GOAL OVERRULED!! VAR CHECKS THE GOAL AND FINDS CHIELLINI OFFISDE!! THE DEFENDER HAD A TOUCH OF THE BALL BEFORE IT CAME TO BONUCCI!!

13' GOOOOAAAALLLL!!! ITALY TAKES THE LEAD!! BONUCCI SCORES!!

8' Lukaku has already found himself in some good positions in these early moments if the match. His hold-up play, as usual, as been top-notch. Lukaku versus Chiellini will be a battle to watch out for.

5' Nice start to the game as both teams are showing an attacking intent. That is always a goos sign.

2' EARLY CHANCE- De Bruyne found Lukaku well who was away with a well-timed run. However, De Bruyne's pass had a bit too much weight on it and Donnarumma collects it with ease.

1' KICK-OFF!!

12:30 p.m- WE ARE UNDERWAY!!

12:25 p.m- National anthems being sung. Kick-off moments away!!

12:05 a.m- Stat attack with 25 minutes to kick-off!!

11:50 p.m- What they said

11:25 p.m- BELGIUM AND ITALY LINEUPS STARTING XI!!

Belgium (3-4-2-1) : Courtois; Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Vertonghen; Meunier, Tielemans, Witsel, T.Hazard; De Bruyne, Doku, Lukaku

Subs: Thomas Kaminski, Matz Sels, Dedryck Boyata, Yannick Carrasco, Dries Mertens, Jason Denayer, Leander Dendoncker, Nacer Chadli, Christian Benteke, Michy Batshuayi, Leandro Trossard, Dennis Praet

Coach: Roberto Martinez

Italy (4-3-3) : Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Chiesa, Insigne, Immobile

Subs: Salvatore Sirigu, Alex Meret, Manuel Locatelli, Andrea Belotti, Domenico Berardi, Matteo Pessina, Emerson, Francesco Acerbi, Bryan Cristante, Federico Bernardeschi, Alessandro Bastoni, Rafael Toloi

Coach: Roberto Mancini

11:00 p.m- Form guide of Belgium and Italy (Last five matches)

Belgium: W-W-W-W-W

Italy: W-W-W-W-W

10:45 p.m- Predicted XI, injury doubts and suspension scenarios: Belgium and Italy

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

Match Preview

Belgium’s leading scorer at the European Championship is no stranger to Italy’s veteran defenders.

They all play in Serie A.

Romelu Lukaku will likely be the main attacking threat when Belgium takes on Italy in Munich on Friday in the Euro 2020 quarterfinals. The Inter Milan forward has scored three goals in his team’s four victories so far.

READ: Euro 2020: We play our own game against Belgium, says Mancini

And with Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard both doubtful for the game, Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini and teammate Leonardo Bonucci — both defenders at Juventus — will know just who to focus on.

“It’s a quarterfinal. It will be decided on small details,” Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans said. “I think one phase can turn the game in our favour, or against us. We have to be concentrated from the first minute and finish strongly. It’s going to be very, very tough, very, very physical.”

READ:  EURO 2020: De Bruyne, Hazard absent from Belgium training ahead of Italy clash

Belgium, which is trying to win its first major tournament three years after a third-place finish at the World Cup, hasn’t lost in 13 games and is the top-ranked team in the world. The Italians haven’t been beaten in a national team record 31 matches, though they were taken to extra time by Austria in the round of 16.

“It’s a nice challenge to beat them after a run of 31 unbeaten games. I estimate the odds 50-50,” said Belgium midfielder Thorgan Hazard, Eden’s younger brother and the scorer of the only goal in the team's 1-0 victory over Portugal in the last round. “It’s an advantage that we didn’t have to play extra time.”

Belgium-Italy-infographicjpgjpg
 

Both teams won all three of their group matches, and with France, Portugal, the Netherlands and Germany all eliminated from Euro 2020, the winner in Munich will certainly be among the favourites for the title.

“We must continue to believe in ourselves,” Italy midfielder Jorginho said. “The most serious mistake would be to think that we’ve already done something great.”

READ:  EURO 2020: Belgium midfielder Tielemans still full of energy despite long season

Neither De Bruyne nor Eden Hazard’s injury worries are new. De Bruyne fractured his nose and eye socket in a collision with Chelsea defender Antonio Rüdiger while playing for Manchester City in the Champions League final, but the latest problem is a bruised left ankle sustained after a tackle from Portugal midfielder João Palhinha in the round of 16.

“I don’t know if De Bruyne will play in the game, but he’s definitely a player who makes the difference, with a higher-than-average football intelligence,” said Jorginho, a Chelsea midfielder who plays against De Bruyne in the Premier League.

The injury-prone Hazard was also taken off early against Portugal with a hamstring issue. Belgium coach Roberto Martínez said Monday that both Hazard and De Bruyne were “50-50” for Friday’s game.

Belgium has only beaten Italy once before in a competitive game — in the 1972 European Championship quarterfinals.

Belgium and Italy- Full Squads

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