The most exciting attacking team in the Euros has been Italy. So much of fluidity, running and passing iced with some quality play in the top of it all. So when Martinez sets his team to compete with Mancini, he went too defensive. The back line and the defensive central midfield stayed back far away from the attacking quartet starving them from any quality apart from individual brilliance.
If you sit back, you put yourself under so much pressure and that is exactly what Italy did. At no point in the first half did Belgium look like competing with Italy. The penalty just kept them interested and hopefully a different second half. But Martinez changed nothing. Italy played the same and the fluidity eventually won. Italy big time favorites to run away with this Euro no matter how much England dreams.
Varun Babu M.D. 