Youri may have to turn provider if injuries kick in
YOURI Tielemans may need to be Belgium’s all-action man when they face Italy in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 on Friday.
The Leicester City midfielder played 90 minutes on Sunday night as the number-one-ranked nation squeezed past reigning European champions Portugal 1-0, Thorgan Hazard’s swerving shot just before half-time settling the match.
While Tielemans played a deeper, more defensive role to try to stifle Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates, he may need to provide more creativity in the last eight.
That’s after Belgium’s chief playmakers, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, were substituted with injury.
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has rated the duo as 50-50 to be fit for Friday, in Munich.
Assessing Sunday night’s win, which needed Thibaut Courtois to make a handful of saves and for the Belgian back-line to hold firm under heavy pressure, Martinez said: “We had incredible concentration and defended really well. We scored a very good goal.
“In the second half the more the momentum went to Portugal we had to show an incredible mentality. Everything was about being disciplined and tactically astute.”
Meanwhile, Kasper Schmeichel and Denmark will fancy their chances of making the final four after they were drawn against Czech Republic in the quarter-finals.
After beating Wales 4-0 on Saturday, the Danes learned their opponents on Sunday, when Czech Republic sprung one of the surprises of the tournament, beating 10-man Netherlands 2-0.
The duo now face off on Saturday in Baku. Whoever reaches the semifinals will face one of England, Germany, Sweden or Ukraine.
MIDFIELDER COULD BE NEEDED IN CREATIVE