Preview of Euro 2020 quarter finals

This year’s European championship has produced so many surprises so far. Most of the teams that were tagged favorites prior to the tournament have been eliminated. The underdogs in this tournament are really pulling up upsets against all odds.

World champions France are out of the competition as they were beaten by a determined Switzerland side on penalties. Defending champions Portugal were also knocked out on Monday by Belgium when Thorgan Hazard scored a screamer to get a hard-fought 1:0 victory for the Red Devils.

The likes of Germany and 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia are all out of the competition before the quarter finals stage. This shows how unpredictable yet very entertaining this year’s Euros is.

There are eight teams left in the competition and all teams will battle for the prestigious trophy starting from today. The teams that have made it to the quarter finals are;

• Italy
• England
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Switzerland
• Spain
• Belgium
• Ukraine

These are the teams that are expected to battle to reach the semi finals of the competition.

These teams were pair against each other. Let’s take a look at the fixtures of the quarter finals.

Fixtures	Day and time
Switzerland vrs Spain	Fri, 4:00pm
Belgium vrs Italy	Fri, 7:00pm
Czech Republic vrs Denmark	sat, 4:00pm
Ukraine vrs England	Sat, 7:00pm

The Belgium vrs Italy game is expected to be the biggest game of the quarter finals. However with the upsets in this tournament so far, we expect so much entertainment in all the matches as this euros look unpredictable.

Belgium vrs Italy

source | lincense details

This fixture a highly anticipated one of course. Belgium are the number one ranked team in the world according to FIFA. This shows they’re the best team in world currently and they play some exciting football as well. The Red Devils so far have 100% record in the euros after winning 4 of 4 matches. They won all their matches in the group stage by beating Russia 3:0, coming from behind to beat Denmark 2:1 and also seeing off Finland comfortably with a 2:0 victory in their final group game.
They progressed to round of 16 where they won by a solitary goal against defending champions Portugal courtesy of a first half strike from Thorgan Hazard.

Belgium are expected to be without star man Eden Hazard after he was injured in their previous game against Portugal. Manchester city superstar Kevin De Bruyne is also a doubt for this fixture after he picked up a knee injury in the previous game too. This will be a very big loss for them if these two players don’t have a part to play in the game. Below is the possible lineup of Belgium:

Screenshot: sofascore

The Italians on the other hand has been a resurgent team under manager Roberto Mancini. This same team failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia just two years ago. After the appointment of the new head coach they’ve been in some great form right from the qualifiers up to the euros itself. They also boast of 100% record in the tournament after winning all four of their matches so far. Italy are unbeaten in their last 30 games in all competitions. They’ve also won their last eleven matches in a row conceding just one goal in those eleven games.

They got to this stage after overcoming a very stubborn Austria side when they beat them by 2:1 in extra time. The game was goalless after 90 minutes, but just when Austria thought they’ve done enough, Italy showed their character by getting two quick goals in extra time. Two substitutes Fredrico Chiesa and Pessina got the two goals for the Azzuri to book their place in the quarter finals.

Italy have no injury issues in their camp like their opponents tonight. They’re expected to go with a full strength squad as usual. Below is the possible lineup of the Italians:

Screenshot: sofascore

Belgium and Italy have played each other nine times previously. The Italians have a slight advantage as they have won 4 whilst Belgium have three wins against them with the remaining two ending in a draw game. This shows how competitive the match is when these two sides meet.

This game is very difficult to predict but I expect Italy to progress to the next stage due to their experience and the injuries in the Belgium camp as well.