SM
Liverpool vs. Villa: 17 hrs 42 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Euro 2020 day 22: Belgium face anxious wait over Hazard, De Bruyne

:Headline: Euro 2020 day 22: Belgium face anxious wait over Hazard, De Bruyne:
Belgium take on Italy and Spain face Switzerland in Friday's two last-eight clashes.
Sports Mole

Belgium face an anxious wait to learn whether star players Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard will be fit to face Italy in their Euro 2020 quarter-final.

Manchester City's De Bruyne (ankle) and Real Madrid's Hazard (muscle strain) were both forced out of Belgium's 1-0 round-of-16 win against Portugal on Sunday and coach Roberto Martinez will make last-minute decisions.

Italy skipper Giorgio Chiellini is back in contention for the match in Munich on Friday night after missing his side's previous two games – wins against Wales, in their last group match, and against Austria.

De Bruyne, pictured, and Hazard are both injury doubts for Belgium (Jose Manuel Vidal/AP).

Spain coach Luis Enrique has reported no new injuries for his side's quarter-final in St Petersburg against Switzerland earlier in the evening.

The Swiss will be without suspended captain Granit Xhaka after the Arsenal midfielder received his second booking of the tournament in the thrilling penalty shoot-out win against France.

The winners of Friday's quarter-finals will meet in the first semi-final at Wembley on Tuesday, with the second last-four tie taking place at the same venue the following day.

Stat attack

Italy have set a new national record of 31 games unbeaten going back to October 2018, beating the mark set by Vittorio Pozzo's World Cup and Olympic champions of the 1930s. That includes wins in their last 12 games, without conceding a goal until Austria's extra-time consolation on Saturday.

Their opponents are not far behind, though – Belgium are 13 games unbeaten, winning 11, and have lost only to England in the Nations League since the start of 2019. In 27 games each in that timeframe Italy have won 24 and drawn three, scored 80 goals and conceded seven, compared to Belgium's 23 wins, three draws and one loss, 81 goals scored and 15 conceded.

Quote of the day

“We've witnessed just what a match-winner and big player (Lukaku) has become...But I think we'll both sleep well tonight, that goes for me and Romelu”
- Italy defender and captain Giorgio Chiellini

Three Lions seek 'edge'

Gareth Southgate urged his players to get back in "performance state" as preparations continued for Saturday's quarter-final against Ukraine in Rome.

England travel to the Italian capital knowing it will be their only trip away from Wembley as they look to clinch a place in the semi-finals against the Czech Republic or Denmark.

The Three Lions lifted the nation by defeating Germany on Tuesday, but Southgate is keen his players retain their "edge".

Southgate said: "It's Saturday now for us, the messages are great, the congratulations are great, but they're also dangerous because it can take an edge from you and we've got to get that edge in our feeling now to get back into performance state."

England will know who they could face in the last four before their game at the Olympic Stadium against Ukraine kicks off at 8pm on Saturday as Denmark's quarter-final against the Czech Republic is a 5pm kick-off in Baku.

Post of the day

Up next

Switzerland v Spain (Quarter-final, July 2, St Petersburg, 1700 BST)
Belgium v Italy (Quarter-final, July 2, Munich, 2000 BST)

body check tags ::

amp_article__453630 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-07-02 07:45:12:
html db last update - 2021-07-02 07:45:12 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about Kevin De Bruyne

Click here for more stories about Belgium

Share this article now:
EM
Read Next:
Euro 2020 matchday 21: England determined to retain edge
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Kevin De Bruyne Gareth Southgate Eden Hazard Granit Xhaka Roberto Martinez Giorgio Chiellini Football
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Euro 2020 matchday 21: England determined to retain edge
"I agree" - Van Nistelrooy makes striker admission amid Hojlund, Zirkzee struggles

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Preview: Man Utd vs. Leicester - prediction, team news, lineups

1

PM

"Anfield will be raucous": Anfield could be key to beating Aston Villa

2

&W

Real Madrid boss Ancelotti responds to Deschamps's decision to snub Mbappe

3

RM

Preview: Nott'm Forest vs. Newcastle - prediction, team news, lineups

4

PN

Preview: FC Twente vs. Ajax - prediction, team news, lineups

5

PF

Three-horse race? Arsenal 'considering January bid' for £66m wonderkid

6

TR

Preview: Estrela Amadora vs. Nacional - prediction, team news, lineups

7

PE

"I agree" - Van Nistelrooy makes striker admission amid Hojlund, Zirkzee struggles

8

&A

Preview: Rangers vs. Hearts - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PR

Diallo or Rashford? How Man United could line up against Leicester

10

DO


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .