Italy produced a fairly surprising performance in beating Belgium, one of the pre-tournament favourites, 2-0 in their Euro 2016 Group E opener in Lyon. Here are the main talking points
Will it be 3-5-2 for Chelsea then?
Manager Antonio Conte has Italy playing the same formation he perfected at Juventus and, especially in the first half, Belgium could not deal with it.
As long as the full-backs perform well, 3-5-2 is an incredibly solid formation which allows you to play two up front – a rarity at this tournament.
The key players are his all-Juventus “BBC” centre-back trio – Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini. Their Juventus side – also playing 3-5-2 despite Conte no longer being in charge – was impregnable at times last season and the three players slot seamlessly into the national set-up.
They aren’t going to concede many goals this tournament.
What proved so effective against Belgium was that Italy often created one-on-one situations down the flanks. The two centre-forwards occupied the Belgian centre-backs and Italy’s wide players then had chances to beat their full-back.
More Euro 2016
• Thomas Woods: Sweeper keeper Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos control crucial to Germany
• Full coverage: Visit The National's dedicated Euro 2016 microsite
• Complete guide: Previews, fixtures, predictions and more
Conte doesn’t have the individual brilliance at his disposal that previous Italian managers had. There isn’t a Del Piero, a Totti or a Baggio.
But when you have a system that works so well, it makes up for that.
With 3-5-2 working so well at international level and in Serie A, it looks like Chelsea will be adopting it when Conte takes over at Stamford Bridge following this tournament.
Romelu Lukaku needs a goal
The Belgian striker might be coming off the back of a 25-goal season, but his confidence looks low. He didn't score in his last 10 Premier League games and his body language against Italy was poor.
He looked like the Lukaku of two seasons ago who would blow hot and cold, with an incredibly heavy touch.
In fact, he looked like the Lukaku who flopped so badly at the 2014 World Cup. In Brazil, he came off after less than an hour in both of Belgium’s first games and then lost his place to Divock Origi, who replaced him on Monday night.
He scored once, in extra time, in the second round against the United States, but he was a shadow of his best.
For Belgium’s sake, let’s hope the Italy game was just a bad night for him, but it feels like he needs to a goal to boost his confidence and make him feel like he belongs on this stage.
One well-taken goal, like he scored so many times in the 2015/16 season for Everton, and he could set the tournament on fire.
That just seems a long way off at the moment.
Candreva Italy’s unsung hero
Antonio Candreva’s performance against Belgium summed up his team as a whole. Hard-working and consistent.
The Lazio man ran up and down the right flank all night, and regularly found space behind the full-back.
And almost every cross he played was dangerous, including a great decision not to shoot when he set up Graziano Pelle’s late second goal.
Candreva is not a big name in a team of few stars – Italy’s star-men are their three Juventus centre-backs and keeper Gianluigi Buffon – but proof that good tactics, solid technique and work ethic can make up for a lack of flair.
Italy will be extremely tough to beat at this tournament and, although they weren’t among the favourites at the start, it would not be a surprise to see them work there way to the last eight at the very least.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
