Belgium have weapons to trip Italy, says Fellaini

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Belgium have weapons to trip Italy, says Fellaini
Marouane Fellaini (right) will be the key player for Belgium.

Published: Sun 12 Jun 2016, 9:53 PM

Last updated: Sun 12 Jun 2016, 11:59 PM

It will be Belgium's star-studded attack against Italy's dogged defence and Marouane Fellaini says his team have the weapons to make a winning start to Euro 2016 on Monday.
Marc Wilmots' Belgium have shot up the world rankings from 66th in 2009 to second coming into the European Championship finals and are amongst the favourites in France.
Now Manchester United's Fellaini wants Premier League stars Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku to showcase their talent against the Azzurri in Lyon in Group E.
"We have a lot top quality players up front, who can make the difference, we have three world-class forwards," said midfielder Fellaini. Belgium netted 24 goals in qualfying. "I hope they are ready to score goals and make a difference. "It's always important to start with a win, especially for our confidence.
"It's going to be a real challenge against Italy, but it's up to us to play through their defence."
Both teams are amongst the favourites to win the European title, but first they must escape one of the toughest groups with Sweden and Ireland also in the pool.
Belgium are chasing a first competitive win against Italy since May 1972 and have won just four of their 21 meetings. But they got the better of Italy with a 3-1 win in Brussels last November. Lazio's Antonio Candreva gave Italy an early lead, but Tottenham Hotspur's Jan Vertonghen equalised before De Bruyne and Michy Batshuayi added late goals for Belgium.
"This friendly (defeat) was important for us to understand our own ambitions. Of course, this is a tournament, it's very different, but we are ready," said Italy's Brazil-born striker Eder.
Belgium's Napoli forward Dries Mertens said his team can expect a battle royal.
"Italy have a good squad, they're a good collective team with a very strong defence, but can switch very fast from defence to attack," said the 29-year-old.
 

By AFP

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