Belgium Women vs Italy Women predictions: Azzurre could leave Belgians feeling Blue
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- Italy have lost just two of their last 13 fixtures
- Belgium have lost five of their last eight matches
- Recommended bet: Italy to win
Italy have not reached the knockout round of the Women's Euros since 2013, but they are hoping to make a bold impression this summer after receiving what appears to be a favourable draw.
Le Azzurre must tackle tournament favourites Spain in the third of their Group B matches but are hopeful of making some headway in their opening two matches, starting with their fixture against Belgium at Stade de Tourbillon in Sion.
Belgium had to qualify via the play-off route and their build-up to the tournament has been extremely bumpy. The Red Flames finished third in Nations League A3, losing four of six matches and conceding 16 goals.
However, they avoided fourth place with a 3-0 win away to Portugal, who will be among their Group B opponents at Euro 2025.
Team news
There could be a strong WSL presence in the Belgian defence with Leicester duo Sari Kees and Janice Cayman and West Ham's Amber Tysiak in contention.
Captain Tessa Wullaert is expected to lead the attack. The Inter Milan player has bagged 93 goals in 146 international appearances.
Astrid Gilardi, Martina Rosucci, Aurora Galli, and Valentina Bergamaschi were axed from Italy’s preliminary squad.
Juventus veterans Cristiana Girelli and Barbara Bonansea are the top scorers in the final 23-player group with tallies of 58 and 31.
The stats
Italy have won two of their last three matches by a three-goal margin, while five of their last eight games have featured goals for both teams.
Belgium have conceded five goals in three of their last six matches and seven of their last nine games have featured at least three goals.
Belgium have kept only two clean sheets in their last nine fixtures.
Prediction
Italy have not won a match at the Women’s Euros since 2017, but they have arrived in Switzerland with a strong squad and can make a positive start by defeating Belgium in Sion.
These two teams were housed in the same group at Euro 2022 and Belgium were the 1-0 victors, ensuring their progress to the knockout rounds and an early elimination for Le Azzurre.
However, Belgium have had a difficult time in recent years and were forced to go through the qualification play-offs after taking just four points from six games in Group A2.
The Red Flames came through play-off fixtures against Greece and Ukraine, registering aggregate successes of 5-0 and 4-1, but they face a step up in quality against Italy, who have been performing at a more consistent level.
The Italians finished top of qualifying Group A1, ahead of the Netherlands and Norway and should fancy their chances of going deep this summer.
Le Azzurre fared well in a couple of high-profile friendlies last year – drawing 1-1 with Spain and winning 2-1 against Germany – and they look solid odds-on shots to start their Euros campaign with a victory.
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