Roberto Mancini believes France and Belgium are the best two teams in the world, but explains why the game against Austria was the game he feared the most.
Italy face Belgium in the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2020 tomorrow.
It kicks off at 8 pm UK time at Munich’s Allianz Arena. Giorgio Chiellini and Alessandro Florenzi have been training with the rest of the team this week, so Mancini has all his players available for the game.
“I don’t have too many doubts, there are some choices to make, but we have clear ideas. Let’s wait for tomorrow,” the Italy CT said at a press conference.
“Belgium are preparing for an important game and the same goes for us. They’ve been the best team in the ranking for the last three years,” he added.
Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard are in doubt for the game with injuries, but Mancini hopes to see them on the pitch.
“It’s always nice for the fans to see all the best players on the pitch, that’s what makes football special,” the coach said.
“We face the best team in Europe along with France, maybe the best in the world. They are on top of the ranking, but we’ll try to win.
“I respect Belgium, but we’ll need to play as we know, we are aware of our qualities.”
The Azzurri needed extra time to beat Austria 2-1 and qualify for the quarter-finals.
“We knew Austria, we knew they could create trouble for us, and we knew it could have been the most difficult game also because it was the first one in the knockout phase.
“Every game can make you stronger if you improve. We suffered against Austria, but we made 26 shots on target. It was a tough game, but we deserved to win. There are no easy games, that’s what the Euros are teaching us.”