“I don’t think it is serious, just a knock”, said coach Marc Wilmots after the match between his expected starting XI and the reserves.
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Wilmots said all players were fit, including Thomas Vermaelen, who had been doubtful. The re-emergence of Stephan El Shaarawy alongside the rise in form of Lorenzo Insigne looks promising, although it is unlikely that we’ll see the two feature together too much in the coming fixtures.
As I mentioned yesterday, this is the real group of death and in all honestly it doesn’t get much tougher than this for Republic of Ireland but I’m sure Martin O’Neill and his players will relish this challenge and opportunity of playing both Belgium and Italy.
“I don’t have a crystal ball”, Conte told media when asked what Italy could be expected to achieve ahead of their Group E opener against Belgium in Lille. If you win your first game you feel in the mood and you are ready to do great things. Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne will be battling for top billing in the side, but if he brings his scoring boots Romelu Lukaku could do his reputation a power of good, and that could leave Everton tempted to cash in on their star striker. With Kompany out, that could mean Montreal Impact defender Laurent Ciman, or Manchester City’s on loan center back Jason Denayer could be the man to fill the big hole left by their captain.
Belgium’s high-profile attackers know it won’t be easy against an Italian side that will likely rely more on its defensive traditions following a string of injuries to its midfield and deficiencies up front.
The 28-year-old featured in the last meeting between the two sides, as Italy were beaten 3-1 in Brussels last year.
Italy, Europe’s most successful nation in World Cup history along with Germany with four triumphs each, have only been crowned continental champions on one occasion after they beat Yugoslavia (2-0) in a replayed final in Rome on June 10, 1968. “That is what really counts”.
Conte took over the national team in the wake of Italy’s early exit from the 2014 World Cup finals.
Manager Antonio Conte has taken a lot of slack from MLS fans, for not including New York City FC’s Andrea Pirlo and Toronto FC and MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco.
Italy’s history at the European Championships has been a frustrating yet rather interesting one. This time around, Conte has lost arguably his two best midfielders in Marchisio and Marco Verratti through injury.
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Especially against a Belgium side that may be overly eager to make a strong start in its hunt for an elusive title.
