Belgium find best form to beat Ireland

Eder scored a late victor to give Italy a 1-0 victory over Sweden in their second Euro 2016 Group E match here on Friday and booked the Azzurri a berth in the last 16.

Ancelotti once said that defensive football historically had given Italian football great joy and he made no apologies for making his defence the cornerstone of his teams’ tactics. We have got to be better at keeping the ball. It’s important that over the next couple of days that we get our heads on the game.

“We know the type of lad Jon is and I think if there’s any chance he thinks he can get through it he’ll have a go”, added Keane, who said he was keeping his “fingers crossed”.

“Our line-up surprised but it was the right line-up…We were not going to play defensively against Ireland or you would be sacking me all over again – don’t worry I am used to that”. Darren Randolph’s distribution, which was entirely long bar one single short pass, was wasteful, but those in front of him either didn’t want the ball or were going to do the same thing once they got it.

‘Do you want the ball? “We need players with courage and balls”.

The Corkman drew a chuckle from the media when discussing whether the Irish players had been naive in not fouling Belgium more to cut out their devastating counter-attacks.

‘You have to be streetwise in this game. But we didn’t manage to do that and they hurt us.

“At worldwide level, you actually get time on the ball”. Does that answer your question? What do you think I would do?’

After starting with a 2-0 defeat to Italy, the world number two side bounced back in Bordeaux as a second-half Romelu Lukaku brace, either side of an Axel Witsel goal, gave them their first Group E points.

Walters trained on his own as he continues his recovery from an Achilles injury. “You want to see the whites of their eyes”.

We didn’t play well.

“Of course the belief is there, this game is gone, we’re onto the next one now”.

“It’s still very much touch-and-go”.

Only to some extent though, as Ireland proved themselves to be limited opposition and the victory came after a build-up dominated by suggestions leading Belgian players had agitated for a change in approach.

Tell us what you think below?

“We need to believe going into that game that we can win it, it’s as simple as that. It’s manipulating the people, giving them the wrong idea”, he said.

Wilmots has always been a leading figure in Belgian football, having starred as a player in the 1990s for Standard Liege, Schalke 04 in Germany and the Belgian national team.

The team continued to lose its grip and resorted to a style of play that was totally unsuited to the players they had on the pitch.

“I suppose we had this conversation the other day about Belgium”. “Sometimes you need a setback, because we have a young squad”. One of them was against Italy, in New Jersey in 1994.

“We are playing for a country”.

Manager Martin O’Neill said: “It’s been mentioned twice to me and I know that the players seem to be pretty adamant about it”. That is the name of the game.

After players such as Kevin de Bruyne and captain Eden Hazard failed to shine against Italy, a convincing win against Sweden would help ease fears that team has underachieved.

Keane was asked on Monday about preparing for teams who are better than you.