Italy Belgium Nations League Preview
Italy needs a win, with France taking on Israel in the other match
Italy, Belgium both need to win this Group A2 clash
With a poor start to Nation’s League, Belgium find themselves in third in their group with only four points from four games as they take on Italy Thursday.
This is a must win for them to progress through this stage and close the five-point gap on France in second and six-point gap to leaders Italy.
Italy are unbeaten in all four games, with two wins against Israel and a win against France. The last time these two sides met, it ended in a 2-2 draw. Italy had Lorenzo Pellegrini sent off when they were 2-0 up and went on to concede two goals after.
New faces for Belgium
Belgium has a lot of new faces in the squad, particularly younger players. Eighteen of their 34-man squad are 23 and under. With De Bruyne injured and missing from the squad it’ll be interesting to see who steps up and takes over as the leader of this new era of Belgium football.
They may opt for the Aston Villa duo of Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana in a double pivot. However, the return to fitness and form of Roméo Lavia is a big boost and he could certainly start. Arne Engels has been impressive for Celtic this season, so he’ll be in contention too. Arthur Vermeeren, long term, will be an important part of their midfield. However, he hasn’t played much for Leipzig this season so it’s unlikely he starts.
Zeno Debast is the main defender to watch. Debast settled in at Sporting instantly and showing composure and class on the ball. Another defender to look out for is Maxim De Cuyper, who surprisingly is yet to move from the Belgian Pro League despite consistently performing well. De Cuyper can play as a fullback on both sides providing quality crosses into the box.
Belgian attack ready to go, but who do they choose?
In attack, there are many combinations they could go with. Record goal scorer Romelu Lukaku is in the squad, but recently for the national team, Loïs Openda has been more reliable. Atalanta’s versatile forward Charles De Ketelaere can offer depth in a variety of positions similarly to Leandro Trossard. But on the wings, they have so many exciting wingers who combine pace, power, trickery and goal-threat. In the previous fixture they went with the winger duo of Doku and Trossard. But Dodi Lukebakio and Johan Bakayoko could start ahead of out of form Trossard.
In goal, Courtois is also injured and although Koen Casteels has been a regular in the past, Matz Sels has had a great season for Nottingham Forest so far and so he could get the nod over him. Maarten Vandevoordt is the long-term prospect and at 22 years old, already has so much experience.
Italy needs to beat Belgium to stay ahead of France
For Italy, in-form strikers Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui and Lorenzo Lucca will all be fighting to start, with Retegui expected to get the start over the others.
The midfield is where it’s most interesting for Italy. against Belgium. There are so many central midfielders from different sides who are usually key players for their respective clubs. So it’ll be fascinating to see who Luciano Spalletti goes for. Inter’s Barella, Newcastle’s Tonali, Juventus’ Locatelli are the regulars. However, Samuele Ricci has been thriving at Torino this season and put in an outstanding performance in Italy’s win against France. Ricci has since been linked with the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal. Both clubs will look to boost their midfield depth in the January transfer window. Dimarco and Cambiaso should start as wingbacks.
In defense, Bastoni is the main man, but having just returned from a knock and Calafiori not fit, Italy may have a makeshift defense. The experienced Federico Gatti and Alessandro Buongiorno could start, but 19-year-old Pietro Comuzzo may make his first appearance for the senior national team after an impressive season for Fiorentina so far.
In goal, the trio of Donnarumma, Vicario and Di Gregorio have all struggled for form and consistency this season. It’s probably the hardest position to call. Donnarumma especially is in bad form. It’s possible that Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario starts over him for the 2nd game running.
Rad more from Ben.
