Talking about Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci, five years ago, he partnered with Giorgio Chiellini and stopped Lukaku, contributing to the Azzurri’s first win at EURO 2016.   This time, Leonardo Bonucci was, once again, a key figure against Belgium in a win that took Italy through to the semi-finals. He had a goal disallowed, he fought for every ball and he showed once again that he is one of the leaders of this team. “Nights like this tell me that we’re becoming a really good team. We showed solidity, a spirit of sacrifice and that Italian heart. Now, we will rest and go again at Wembley. We believe!”

Italy and Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne silencing his critics elegantly with a goal.   Insigne scored a stunning solo goal and a performance that earned him the Star of the Match award.  Insigne, saying,  “It was one of my most important goals. We’re in the semis because we suffered together – even those that didn’t play – and the coach is the one that has instilled this mentality. We’re having a great tournament and I am putting myself at the disposal of the team. I know I didn’t have my best game against Austria, but the important is that we showed, all together, that we can go a long way.” The thoughts of the Azzurri number 10 then went out to Leonardo Spinazzola, who was forced off with what looked like a serious injury: “I feel for him because if he hadn’t gone off, he’d have won the Star of the Match award. I went over to console him because I saw him in tears. I hope that he can recover because he’s a really important player for us.”