Giorgio Chiellini warns there is more to Belgium than Romelu Lukaku and insists his future at Juventus is not a matter of concern.
The experienced centre-back has recovered from a thigh injury and is expected to return to action against Belgium tomorrow.
The Azzurri face the Red Devils in the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2020 at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
It kicks off at 8 pm UK time.
“It’s a great stadium, we need to be ready for a great event. We are happy to train here, then we’ll have one day to prepare a great game,” Chiellini said at a press conference.
“I am happy to be available, we have one more training session today. This is a great group, the coach will have many doubts in his head, but this group has proved that many players can start, we are all ready,” he continued.
“We want to do well, we want to reach the final target. We are proud of being Italian as they are proud to be Belgian. Each one of us will try to bring the national team as high as possible. The details will be decisive.”
Chiellini will meet Inter striker Romelu Lukaku with whom he battled during the 2020-21 campaign.
“We all respect Lukaku for his extraordinary season at Inter, but to think that Belgium is just Lukaku is offensive for his teammates,” said Chiellini.
“They have so many great players and we are going to prepare the game as we’ve always done, we’ll both sleep well tonight, both Romelu and I.
On paper, Chiellini is without a team as his contract with Juventus expired yesterday. However, he is expected to sign a one-year contract extension with the Bianconeri.
Leo Messi is living the same situation in Barcelona, but he will also pen a new deal with the Catalans.
“We are both without a club, but we have another thing in common, we are both left-footed,” Chiellini said smiling.
“I don’t think about it [the future], I am calm, and I think the same goes for Messi.”