Kick-off: 1400, 10/10/2021
Stadium: Juventus Stadium
TV: Sky Sports
Third-placed play-offs are always tough to call but the percentage pick is to go with Italy to make home advantage count against Belgium.
The Azzurri, who beat the Red Devils at Euro 2020, should also benefit from having an extra day to recover from their Nations League semi-final loss.
Punters can get 11/10 for Roberto Mancini’s men to prevail in normal time in Turin and that is our first Italy vs Belgium prediction.
A Look At Italy’s Betting Odds
Italy’s world-record 37-match unbeaten run came to an end when they were beaten 2-1 by Spain in Milan on Wednesday night.
Ferran Torres bagged a first-half brace for La Roja and the Azzurri also had captain Leonardo Bonucci sent off just before the interval.
Substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini claimed an 83rd-minute consolation on the counter-attack but could not prevent a first competitive home defeat this century.
Mancini said: “Football games are like this – sometimes certain details can decide them.
“The first half could have ended 1-1 easily. Spain play very well technically, we should have been more careful in not conceding the second before the end of the half.
“It is very difficult to face Spain’s ball possession with 11 players, so you can just imagine (trying to do so) with 10.”
The Azzurri couldn’t be faulted for effort, though, and we like 27/10 for them to win by any one-goal margin from the Italy vs Belgium odds.
A Look At Belgium’s Betting Odds
Belgium’s golden generation have had to endure a succession of near-misses when it comes to chasing silverware and that trend continues.
The Red Devils looked in control of their semi-final versus France when Yannick Carrasco and Romelu Lukaku netted towards the end of the opening period.
However, Karim Benzema pulled one back, Kylian Mbappe levelled from the penalty spot and then Theo Hernandez fired in a last-gasp decider.
“Our first half was really extraordinary,” said head coach Roberto Martinez, in quotes reported by L’Equipe. “We were so confident.
“In the second half, we were a little too emotional. Maybe we were thinking a little too much about the final, about qualifying.
“We didn’t do what we had to do. We let France come back into the match and they had the energy to score one last goal.
“It’s a good time for us now to show our resilience in the third-place play-off against Italy. In 13 months, there will be a World Cup and each match must be an opportunity to show our level.”
That was a draining second half on Thursday night, though, and Martinez may have to freshen up an ageing side here.
Let’s finish off our Italy vs Belgium betting tips by taking 17/4 for Draw HT/Italy FT.
Additional stats
Last result:
ITALY 1-2 Spain – Lorenzo Pellegrini
BELGIUM 2-3 France – Yannick Carrasco, Romelu Lukaku
Head-to-head: Belgium 1-2 Italy, Belgium 0-2 Italy, Belgium 3-1 Italy, Italy 3-1 Belgium, Belgium 0-2 Italy
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