How Italy Ended Belgium’s Golden Generation
The Tactical Clash of Two European Giants
Introduction/Lineups/Stats
After a perfect group stage Italy showed some vulnerability in their first knock out match against Austria. Belgium look very secured and impressive against Portugal. After the match Italy had marginally more possession with 54%. Under Roberto Mancini we have seen an evolution of Italy in possession. With concepts like asymmetry with their full back creating a back 3 or if we looked to the midfielders and saw how they used the left half space for a source of overloads. These are just two things we can look at when dissecting this match up.
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Interestingly enough Belgium (1.83) edged Italy (1.73) in the Xg category, but Italy edged Belgium in shots, chances created, and big chances. As always when we look at the metrics associated with describing a game they can be a bit misleading. In this…
