‘We face the best team in Europe’, says Mancini ahead of Belgium clash

Italy

and

Belgium

will face each other for a place in Euro 2020 semi-finals on Saturday.

It kicks off at 8 pm UK time at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Giorgio Chiellini

and

Alessandro Florenzi

both started training with the rest of the team, so Mancini has all his players at his disposal.

Belgium

is coming into this match with a narrow victory over

Portugal

thanks to a goal from

Thorgan Hazard

. And now, they have another difficult task against Roberto Mancini’s men, who defeated

Austria

2-1 in extra time with goals from

Federico Chiesa

and

Matteo Pessina

.

“I don’t have too many doubts, there are some choices to make, but we have clear ideas. Let’s wait for tomorrow,”

Italy head coach 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

.

midfielder

Kevin De Bruyne

and

striker

Eden Hazard

both suffered injuries.

Although they will stay with Belgium's Euro 2020 squad, they are not expected to be available for the game against Italy.

However, the former Manchester City manager hopes to see the Red Devils stars 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.”

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