Italy - Belgium

Italia choose a Belgium as their last test before EURO 2008 contest. Donadoni cut the players list to 23 and he will use this match in Florence to line-up the team who will face Holland in days in their first Euro 2008 match. Belgium will try to keep their head on the shoulders due to bad lately form and disaster results in last qualification round.

Victory against not too attractive rival, before crucial matches in the “group of death”, could have a great impact on confidence of Italian players, whose on the huge pressure after they won World Cup 2006. World Champions come from the country where expectations are enormously high whatever is the current situation of their nation team. Consequently, now everything except European title will be big disappointment for Azzuri. In situation like this coach Dodadoni has to prepare team for the a best possible start of the competition due to the fact that Italy is in the group with Holland, France and Romania. Any bad result in the first three games could mean elimination after group stage of competition, so traditional Italian “catanacho” has to be replaced with a fluidity in mid-field and creativity in attack. For all these tasks all 23 players have to be on the high level of concentration, motivation and ability to show their best. It is hard to predict Donadoni’s first eleven, but any his decision will bring offensive football on pitch. It is expected that controversial Cassano get the chance after he was on the list despite his unpredictable temperament, alongside Toni in attack. Duties in mid-field will be on Pirlo and Del Piero’s back, whose have a capability to pull up whole team.

Inexperienced youngsters will be on the other part of the field. Time of Scifo, Gerets and Pfaf has gone. Some new faces are in the Belgian squad with huge expectations, but in the same time without hope that some great results from eighties could be reached in the next couple of years. Begium has failed to qualify for the big stage since 2000. However, they believe that young talented players like Kompany, Fellaini, Defour, Witsel, Dembele, Mirallas, Hazard have picked up enough experience and with the good coaching could find their place at South Africa 2010. But, recent results demand all these expectations. They even failed to beat poor Kazakhstan in the two occasions during last EURO qualifications, so last defeat against Morocco at home wasn’t big surprise. It is hard to believe that Rene Vandereycken’s team could remind on runner-ups from EURO ’80 and
make positive result in Florence.

I expect a lot of goals in the Logan Bailly’s net. Italians will try to make pressure from the beginning and with offensive football they could beat -1,5 handicap. Odds are fine and I will bet 8 on Italy to beat -1,5 handicap against Belgium at 2.05 with Bet365.