Hazard And De Bruyne Doubtful For Italy, Martinez: We Are Racing Against Time

JAKARTA - The coach of the Belgian national team, Roberto Martinez, admits that captain Eden Hazard and creative midfielder Kevin de Bruyne are still doubtful of being able to play against Italy in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals in Munich, Friday local time.

The fitness of the two Belgian stars is in question as they had to leave the field injured in their last 16 win against Portugal on Sunday, 27 June.

De Bruyne has an ankle injury while Hazard has had a hamstring problem and both have not attended any training session this week, including on Thursday morning before the Belgium squad flew to Germany.

"It will be difficult for Eden to play tomorrow because of the slight injury issue and maybe it will be different for Kevin who has a ligament problem," Martinez told a news conference.

"We are in a race against time, but it looks like we have to wait until the last minute to make a decision.

"We see there are positive developments, but only tomorrow we can review whether they can play or not. Unfortunately that decision cannot be taken now," he added.

On the other hand, Martinez slightly regrets that Belgium and Italy have to meet in the quarter-finals, considering that statistically and scores throughout the tournament, both teams deserve to be considered as strong seeds.

"We are the two statistically best teams in the tournament. Both teams have both recorded 14 straight wins in Euro matches," he said.

"It's a shame we have to meet in the quarter-finals. But this might show the quality of this tournament and we have to be ready.

"There are not many secrets, the two teams are as close as a club and tomorrow's match will be decided in small details," Martinez added.

The Belgium versus Italy encounter also provides an opportunity for Martinez to repeat the success against Roberto Mancini, which he had experienced in 2013 when guiding Wigan Athletic over Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

"If you look at the context of the final, bringing the English champions against another small team that can reach the final alone is a success," he said.

"I don't think many people thought it would happen and that story continues to be an inspiration to many other clubs," said Martinez.

If able to pass Italy, Belgium will face Switzerland or Spain in the semifinals.