Belgium coach criticizes Italy's playing style

Marc Wilmots expressed his dissatisfaction with the way Italy defeated his Belgium team 2-0 in the opening match of Group E, Euro 2016 on June 13.

Belgium were favourites before kick-off. But Italy, with their squad of older and more established players, caused a huge surprise by winning the clash in Lyon yesterday, with goals from Emmanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle.

However, in the eyes of coach Wilmots, it was a somewhat ugly, pragmatic victory for Italy, and left him dissatisfied.

In Wilmots' eyes, Italy's victory was not a victory of true and beautiful football. Photo: Reuters.

"Italy only focused on counter-attacking. They didn't play real football and when we faced an opponent who defended deep like that, everything became difficult for us," the Belgian coach said after the match.

Wilmots later admitted that yesterday's opening defeat was "a huge disappointment for the whole team", then went into detail about the reasons for his team's defeat.

"In the first half hour, Belgium barely gave the opponent a chance, and we even created a few chances for ourselves, even though they were only long-range shots. Then, we made a mistake in defense and Italy scored. Alderweireld and Ciman lacked coordination in this situation," the Belgium coach commented.

"It was difficult to get back into the rhythm after that, especially against Italy, because they are so experienced. We played much better after the break, although facing the Juventus block in Italy is not easy. We created some great chances, but at this level, if you don't take your chances, it's very difficult to get the result you want."

Attacking stars like De Bruyne (in photo), Hazard, Lukaku... all cried out in pain at the quality of Italy's defense. Photo: Reuters.

With a 0-2 defeat in the opening match, Belgium went from being the strongest candidate for the top spot to being at the bottom of Group B, as in the previous match, Sweden and Ireland drew 1-1. The next two matches will therefore be very important, if Belgium wants to qualify for the next round.

"Now we have to look forward and focus on the next two games, because they are crucial," said Wilmots.

On June 18, Belgium will face the Republic of Ireland in Bordeaux. Four days later, they play Sweden in Nice.

According to VNE