Belgium fret over Hazard, De Bruyne for Italy quarterfinal

BELGIUM are anxiously waiting on the fitness of stars Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard for their Euro 2020 quarterfinal showdown against Italy on Friday.

Thorgan Hazard fired Belgium into the last eight with the goal that knocked out holders Portugal, but the fitness of his brother Eden and De Bruyne is Belgium’s main concern before facing the Azzurri in Munich.

De Bruyne came off early in the second half against Portugal with an ankle knock, while Belgian captain Hazard injured a hamstring late in the game.

Neither trained Wednesday with Belgium’s medical staff working around the clock to get them fit to face Italy.

Coach Roberto Martinez admits neither player will probably be 100% in Munich, “but we will use every day to get them as fit as possible”.

Manchester City midfielder De Bruyne is central to Belgium’s hopes of reaching the semifinals, where Spain or Switzerland would await next Tuesday.

Martinez is assessing his alternative options in attacking midfield.

Atletico Madrid’s Yannick Carrasco could replace Hazard, while Napoli forward Dries Mertens may step in for De Bruyne.

Martinez expects Italy to “attack from the very first second, they will be very structured”, underlining the need for De Bruyne’s presence to guide Belgium’s counterattacks. Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, who faced De Bruyne’s City in last month’s Champions League final, has warned his Italy teammates.

“De Bruyne is a player who makes the difference. We have to stop him because he always finds space. He can be really dangerous,” said Jorginho.

With four wins and three clean sheets so far at Euro 2020, the Belgians are living up to their billing as the world’s top-ranked team.

However, Italy are on a national record run of 31 games unbeaten after digging deep to seal a 2-1 victory over Austria following extra time in the last 16.