Radja Nainggolan “will give everything to beat Italy, although it’s my second home,” and tells Belgium it is better to face them early at Euro 2016.
Their Group E opener is on Monday evening between the two favourites to qualify.
“I have been in Italy for almost 12 years, so it’s my second home, but I do feel Belgian and will give everything to beat Italy,” said the Roma midfielder in a Press conference.
Radja Nainggolan “will give everything to beat Italy, although it’s my second home,” and tells Belgium it is better to face them early at Euro 2016.
Their Group E opener is on Monday evening between the two favourites to qualify.
“I have been in Italy for almost 12 years, so it’s my second home, but I do feel Belgian and will give everything to beat Italy,” said the Roma midfielder in a Press conference.
“I have friends in the Azzurri squad, as Alessandro Florenzi and Daniele De Rossi are my club teammates, but this is Belgium v Italy. I play for Belgium and they play for Italy, so we’ll be opponents for one match.”
The other sides in Group E are Sweden and the Republic of Ireland, but Nainggolan feels the timing favours the Red Devils.
“I think it’s better to face Italy at the start, because once they get into gear and gain confidence, it becomes more difficult to beat them.
“I believe Italy will get through the group because they are tactically very strong and can be very dangerous in the tournament. Italy have injuries, but that means nothing.
“It is no longer the Italy side that won the World Cup and had great players like Francesco Totti, but now it is more than a team, it is a collective.”
Belgium are the top ranked team in Europe, second in the world only behind Argentina, so are they among the favourites to win Euro 2016?
“We play every game to win,” continued Nainggolan. “We are here to go as far as possible. In my view there are no favourites. Many people say we are because individually we have a lot of talent, but we must play as a team and that is what we still need to work on.”
‘Ninja’ had muscular problems in the build-up to the tournament and gave away a goal in the 3-2 warm-up win over Norway.
“I am at 100 per cent now. I won’t seek excuses for my error in that friendly, but I was more concentrated on getting my physical fitness up to scratch.
“We struggled a little with fatigue after the heavy straining sessions and three games in nine days are a lot. The fans might be worried by those friendly performances, but we are not, as in a tournament there’s a different mentality.”