In the Stadio Olimpico of AS Roma, the Italian national football team will play a home match in the Nations League against Belgium on Thursday, October 10. As the current group leader, Italy enters the match with an advantage, so the Belgians have every reason to show their best. Read all about this match in this article.
Nations League
This biennial tournament is being organized for the fourth time, six years after the first edition in 2018. In the Nations League, 54 UEFA members compete against each other, divided into four leagues based on their international performances. Within these leagues, they are further divided into groups, and each country plays both home and away matches against the teams in their group.
After this group stage, the teams follow a new path. The top two teams from the groups in League A qualify for the quarterfinals, where they play playoffs to determine who advances to the final round. There will also be playoffs for promotion and relegation between all leagues. The quarterfinals begin on March 20, with the final round starting on June 4. The final is scheduled for June 8, 2025.
Italy vs. Belgium
These two nations have faced each other a total of 24 times. The first match between Italy and Belgium, a friendly, was played on May 1, 1913, in the Italian city of Turin. Italy won 1-0. Since then, the countries have met regularly in both friendly and competitive matches. The last time Italy and Belgium played was for third place in the 2020/2021 Nations League. Italy claimed third place with a 2-1 victory. Belgium has won four matches in total, but Italy has been the more frequent victor with 16 wins.
Italy
Italy entered the 2024 European Championship as the defending champion, but after a tense group stage, they were knocked out by a strong Switzerland. This continued a somewhat inconsistent period for Italy, after finishing in the quarterfinals in 2016 and as runners-up in 2012. Italy’s best result in the Nations League is third place, which they achieved both in 2020-2021 and 2022-2023.
This year, Italy has also had a strong start to their campaign. After an impressive 3-1 win against France, they also won their second group match against Israel. With six points from two matches, Italy is currently at the top of their group, making an ideal start. With Belgium as their next opponent, that top spot could be in jeopardy, but Italy is determined to defend it.
Head coach Luciano Spalletti has called up goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to guard the goal, with defenders including Riccardo Calafiori, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, and Federico Dimarco. In midfield, players like Lorenzo Pellegrini and Davide Frattesi will support attackers such as Moise Kean, Giacomo Raspadori, Mateo Retegui, and Mattia Zaccagni.
Belgium
In the last major international tournament, this year’s European Championship, the Red Devils were eliminated in the round of 16 against France. This continues the recent trend of Belgium coming close but not quite succeeding in major tournaments. Their best result in the Nations League was in the third-place playoff of 2020-2021, where Italy proved just too strong. Since then, Belgium has dropped from first place in the FIFA rankings to sixth. In this year’s Nations League campaign, Belgium has won once but also suffered a defeat.
Coach Domenico Tedesco will not be able to count on key players Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku for the Nations League matches against Italy and France. After an incident following the last match against France, De Bruyne appeared to be uncomfortable with the national team, but after a talk with the coach, everything seemed to be settled. However, the Manchester City midfielder picked up an injury in the Champions League match against Inter Milan and will not be fit in time. Romelu Lukaku, who is still not fully in form at his new club Napoli, is also taking a break from international duty to prepare himself better. Additionally, Amadou Onana is sidelined with a hamstring injury, and Aster Vranckx has been called up as his replacement.
These absences, however, create opportunities for other players. Tedesco has selected new faces like Malick Fofana, Cyril Ngonge, and Matte Smets. Smets trained with the team during the previous international break but has yet to make his debut. Goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski is being replaced by Maarten Vandevoordt for personal reasons, and Leandro Trossard has been called up again after missing the last international period.
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