Since its formation in 1960, the UEFA European Championship has steadily grown into the competition it is today. From its early beginnings, when only four teams competed in the finals, to the 24 that currently fight it out, this tournament has provided a sterling test for the major nations on the continent.
As the tournament has grown in size, so has its popularity among football fans. Trying to get tickets for key qualifiers and to the finals themselves is a very tough task, especially if you opt to try to secure tickets via the UEFA website.
There, you’ll join a lottery-style application process, which is made all the more unreliable by the fact that you won’t know which two teams will be playing in the specific game you wish to attend. That particular joy awaits in the second tranche of ticket releases, when you will know which teams are playing but will then have to fight it out with millions of others, hoping to strike ticketing gold.
At SeatPick, the process is far simpler, and the chances of getting the tickets you request are much improved, indeed, we guarantee that you’ll be able to find tickets for any major international match via our platform, and that includes this inviting Belgium vs Italy clash.
The reason we can make that assurance is due to the sheer size of the inventory we have, which is down to the fact that we have established strong relationships with hundreds of the most trusted ticket reseller's sites. This means our users then get to pick from a huge selection of tickets, making it easier to find those that meet their budget.
This promises to be an evenly-matched contest between two of the best European nations, albeit it’s Italy with the far more impressive record in the tournament to date.
Belgium vs Italy UEFA Euros Tournament Record
Belgium first qualified for the UEFA European Championships in 1972 and did so as hosts, losing to West Germany in the Semi-Finals, with Gerd Muller scoring twice in a 2-1 win. That Semi-Final finish sounds more impressive than it was, given that only four teams qualified for the tournament in the early editions of the competition.
Eight years later, at Euro 80, Belgium got to the final, where West Germany once again defeated them; this time, it was Horst Hrubesch who fired in a double.
A group stage exit came in 1984, and that was followed by a 16-year absence from the tournament finals, which came to an end in 2000, when Belgium, as co-hosts, didn’t have to qualify for the competition.
They once again failed to get out of the group and had to wait yet another 16 years to get back to the finals. At Euro 2016, national team coach Marc Wilmots did well to steer his strong squad out of the group phase before beating Hungary 4-0 in the Round of 16.
Wilmots would then have expected his Belgian side to be too strong for Wales, but they somehow contrived to lose 3-1 in Lille.
Five years later, at Euro 2020, which was actually delayed to 2021, Belgium once again got to the last eight before losing to Italy in Munich.
Italy’s record at the UEFA European Championship has been far more assured when compared to their opponents, albeit with a fair bit of heartache sandwiched between their two titles.
They reached their first finals in 1968 when they were hosting the competition, and after defeating the Soviet Union (albeit after a coin toss following a goalless draw in Naples), they took on Yugoslavia in the final.
They drew 1-1 to set up a replay, with the great Gigi Riva netting in a 2-0 win in Rome to give them their first European title.
Italy failed to qualify for both the 1972 and 1976 finals and finished fourth in 1980 when they were once again hosting. At Euro 1988, in Germany, wins over Spain and Denmark saw them through to the Semi-Finals, where they lost to the Soviet Union.
At Euro 2000, Italy made light work of their opening group, winning all three games, and then beat Romania and the Netherlands in the Quarter-Final and Semi-Final, respectively, to set up a final with France.
There, they took the lead through Marco Delvecchio and looked set to win the tournament before Sylvain Wiltord scored a 94th-minute equalizer to take the game to extra-time. In this period, they were downed by a 103rd-minute goal from David Trezeguet.
Euro 2012 saw them get to the final again, and on this occasion, they were easily beaten by Spain, with Cesare Prandelli’s side suffering a 4-0 loss in Kyiv.
Euro 2020 saw Italy battle against the odds to secure another title, some 60 years since their first. Roberto Mancini’s side won their first three group games without conceding a single goal but then had to fight to beat Austria 2-1 in the Round of 16.
They then beat Belgium by the same scoreline in the Quarter-Finals before defeating Spain via penalties.
Mancini’s men then faced England at Wembley Stadium and fell behind to a third-minute goal from Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw.
Leonardo Bonucci scored an equalizer midway through the second half, and the game went to another penalty shootout. Italy completed their title triumph when Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka all missed their penalties to hand victory to Gli Azzurri.
Belgium vs Italy Head-to-Head
These two sides have met on many occasions in the UEFA European Championships; the first time they did so in finals action came in 1980 when the two teams played out a goalless draw in Rome, which meant both teams progressed out of the group, albeit Italy to the third-place playoff and Belgium to the final.
In 2000, the two sides were drawn into the same group, and Italy beat Belgium in Brussels 2-0 thanks to goals from Francesco Totti and Stefano Fiore.
Euro 2016 saw the two sides play each other again in the group phase, with goals from Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle giving Italy a 2-0 win in Lyon.
At Euro 2020, played in 2021, Belgium and Italy met in the Quarter-Finals. Goals from Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne gave Mancini’s side a commanding lead before Romelu Lukaku scored a penalty to cut the deficit, but Roberto Martinez’s side were unable to complete the comeback and were duly eliminated.
