World No 1 Belgium and Italy – two heavyweights – clash in the quarter-final of the Euro 2020 at the Allianz Arena, Munich on Friday. The two are the only sides to win all 10 games in qualifying and amongst the three, along with the Netherlands, to win every match in the group stage.

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The game on Friday will be the fifth meeting between Belgium and Italy in a major tournament. The Italians have won three games and one has been a tie. Belgium have, to date, never defeated Italy in a tournament.  The Red Devils are bidding to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1980 when they lost to West Germany in the final.

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Belgium come to this match riding on a win against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, while Italy laboured past Austria in their last game. 

Injury update:

The Italians will play with the strongest possible XI on Friday. Belgium, on the other hand, have two key players- Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard – who might miss the game to injuries. 

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Starting line-ups:

Belgium (3-4-3)

Thibaut Courtois; Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen (capt), Thomas Vermaelen; Thomas Meunier, Youri Tielemans, Axel Witsel, Thorgan Hazard; Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Jeremy Doku

Coach: Roberto Martinez (ESP)

Italy (4-3-3)

Gianluigi Donnarumma; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini (capt), Leonardo Spinazzola; Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, Marco Verratti; Federico Chiesa, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne

Coach: Roberto Mancini (ITA)

“You are seeing the two best teams statistically in this competition,” said the Belgium coach, Roberto Martinez said ahead of the game. “We had to face Portugal really early and now Italy and I think it is a shame for both national teams that we face each other at this stage,” he added. 

Belgium have scored eight goals in Euro 2020 so far, while Italy have conceded none. 

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“We all know that we are fighting against time and we will wait until the last minute to make the decision,” Martinez said.

“Belgium are a brilliant team. They have been top of the FIFA world rankings for three years. We are performing well and I think for a spectator, a neutral, it would be great to see them at full strength,” Italian manager Mancini told reporters, as per AFP.

“So we hope that everyone can be fit and firing. Of course they would cause us more problems because of that but that is what is great about football,” he added.