Italy have been the Jekyll and Hyde of international football in recent years. They qualified for every single World Cup after 1958 until they failed to do so in both 2018 and 2022. Sandwiched between those historic failures was a European Championships triumph that saw Roberto Mancini’s side defeat England at Wembley in the final. It makes no sense from a statistical perspective but, fortunately for us all, the game is still played on grass as opposed to paper.
At the most recent Euros, the Italians, under the stewardship of Luciano Spalletti, had a truly shocking tournament that ended with a round of 16 exit. In truth, the Azzurri were fortunate to get as far as that given how poor they were in the group stage. Perhaps surprisingly, the manager was not sacked as a result of his team’s lacklustre displays and that decision looks like it might be paying off. The Italians got off to the dream start in Nations League A when they shocked France, coming from a goal down to triumph 3-1 in Paris. That stunning victory was followed by a 2-1 win at home to Israel but Spalletti will be all too aware that the jury is still out and these clashes with Belgium and Israel are crucial.
It was a similar story for Belgium at Euro 2024 as Domenico Tedesco’s side managed just two goals in four games and crashed out at the same stage as Italy. The Belgian golden generation turned out to be closer to aluminium. Manager Roberto Martinez might have gone but the same old problems remain. Having won their opening Nations League game against Israel, Belgium lost to France in their next match and now have work to do.
Both teams will be without key men for this one. The hosts will have to do without Federico Chiesa and Jorginho while Tedesco will undoubtedly be lamenting the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Jan Vertonghen. This clash might be low on quality with such big names sidelined for both sides but that may just add to the drama.
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Italy vs Belgium odds
Odds from BetFair and updated as of 6 p.m. BST Wednesday.
- Italy win: 1/1 (+100)
- Draw: 38/15 (+253)
- Belgium win: 31/10 (+310)
Venue: Stadio Olimpico — Rome
Time: 7:45 p.m. BST (2:45 p.m. ET), Thursday
Form guide (all competitions)
Italy: W-W-L-D-L
Belgium: L-W-L-D-W
Match prediction
Italy 2-2 Belgium
This could be an intriguing one with the managers of both sides under a bit of pressure after disappointing performances in the summer. In a sense, nothing less than a win would satisfy either manager so let’s go with a 2-2 draw, the kind of compromise that leaves everybody underwhelmed.
(Photo of Giacomo Raspadori: Claudio Villa / Getty Images)
