Pressure on talented Belgians
BELGIUM’S golden generation will be looking to live up to the hype when they take on an ageing Italian side in their opening Group E match in Lyon tomorrow.
Belgium have been tipped by many to win the competition despite a fairly lacklustre display at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they won four matches by a singlegoal margin before a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Argentina.
Ireland may be hoping that this one is a draw before they play the Belgians on Saturday and Italy will hope their defence can keep the likes of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne at bay.
The clash is a repeat of a friendly match last November which Belgium won 3-1.
Belgium coach Marc Wilmots concedes that, given the choice, he would have liked an easier opponent.
‘I actually would have preferred to face this opponent in the third match (of the group phase),’ Wilmots said.
‘We will have to deal with it. If you lose, there’ll be a lot more stress on the following two matches. If you win, it gives you a nice breath of fresh air.’
Up front, Wilmots has a wealth of talent. As well as Chelsea’s Hazard and Manchester City’s De Bruyne, he can also call on Everton’s Romelu Lukaku and Liverpool pair Divock Origi and Christian Benteke.
Hazard will be in the spotlight after a belowpar season for Chelsea just a year after he was English football’s Player of the Year.
The Red Devils’ only apparent weakness is the defence in front of keeper Thibaut Courtois.
Centre back Vincent Kompany was ruled out after picking up an injury in Manchester City’s Champions League semifinal with Real Madrid.
It is the Italians, though, who have been more affected by injuries, such as those to midfielders like Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio.
Chelsea-bound manager Antonio Conte was criticised for leaving out Andrea Pirlo but it will be defence that is the Italian stronghold again.
“Defensive solidarity must be our number one target,” defender Giorgio Chiellini said. “I don’t think a team necessarily needs to score that many goals. You only have to score one more than your opponents and concede one less.”