Belgium vs. Italy: Winners and Losers from International Friendly
Belgium recovered from conceding an early goal at home to Italy to eventually run out 3-1 winners in their international friendly on Friday night.
Antonio Candreva scored just a couple of minutes in, as he followed in a rebound, but Jan Vertonghen leveled with a powerful header to leave the score even at half-time. Kevin de Bruyne bounced in a shot to put Belgium ahead, before Yannick Carrasco's inventiveness set up Michy Batshuayi for the third and final goal of the night for the home team.
Here are all our winners and losers from the game.
Winners: Eder and Graziano Pelle
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Neither of Italy's starting strikers scored, but both were a big threat in the first half when Italy dominated much of the match and created several chances of note.
Graziano Pelle's physicality was too much for the Belgian centre-backs to deal with at times, though he rarely got himself in a position to score from crosses in truth. Even so, his work rate was good and his link play important while Italy's midfielders had control.
Eder's movement was exceptional throughout, and that alone got him on the end of two great chances to score; the crossbar denied him once and a slight lack of composure did likewise another time, but as a pairing, they were impressive as long as Italy had possession.
Loser: Luis Cavanda
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Luis Cavanda hasn't made much of an impression on the international stage just yet, and he'll have to perform far better if he hopes to make a name for himself in time for Euro 2016.
He was the undisputed weak point in the first half for Belgium, losing out far too easily to goalscorer Antonio Candreva a number of times, giving away possession cheaply and generally struggling to look anywhere near as solid as the rest of the Belgium defence.
The Trabzonspor man had a torrid time all night and was subbed after an hour.
Winner: Yannick Carrasco
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Belgium have good competition for the attacking midfield roles, but Yannick Carrasco did enough on his return to the international fold to suggest he can be a potent weapon for them this year and into the Euros, perhaps.
The Atletico Madrid man started from the right side of the three attacking midfielders but had plenty of licence to roam and switch with Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard, with his pace and dribbling giving Italy some real problems at times.
His finest moment came late in the game as he showed terrific control and poise to take on three players and set up Batshuayi for the last goal of the game, before getting a huge ovation when subbed late on.
Loser: Romelu Lukaku
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Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku lasted just over an hour of the match but failed to have any real impact on the game, and he missed out on the best chance to score a second goal for his team as he couldn't outpace Giorgio Chiellini.
A foot race should have seen the striker run through to score, but the ball got caught between his feet a little and the panicked shot at the end was far more easily blocked than it should have been.
The starting centre-forward role for the national team is still very much up for grabs, with up to four candidates looking to snare it for the European Championships, so every game which passes Lukaku by is another missed opportunity—and it doesn't help his case at all that Michy Batshuayi came on and scored.
Winner: Simon Mignolet
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Our final winner is Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who performed extremely well and made some terrific flying saves.
He's certainly the second-choice keeper for his nation behind Thibaut Courtois, but with the Chelsea stopper injured, Mignolet is seizing his opportunity to stake his own claim and remind his manager, Marc Wilmots, that he can be relied upon to show consistency if needed.
Mignolet's best saves of the night came against Pelle and Candreva, but he also dealt well with high balls and was quick off his line when needed.
