The head of the Belgian Football Association, Peter Bossaert has come out and admitted that Martinez will be the manager for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and beyond.

Coming into the European Championship, Belgium was ranked number one in the official FIFA World rankings, ahead of defending champions Portugal and World champions France.

De Rode Duivels were knocked out by Italy, losing 2-1 at the quarter-final stage in Germany.

Roberto Martinez will remain as manager of Belgium despite their #Euro2020 quarter-final exit at the hands of Italy.

(Via: Sky Sports)#Bel pic.twitter.com/gOqI0A2XQ2

— Oddschanger (@Oddschanger) July 5, 2021

This is yet another major international tournament where Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ have disappointed.

After reaching the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup, failing to go further into the latter stages of the Euros has put pressure on Martinez.

A statement read; “Today we start preparations for the September and October games. Roberto Martinez will be there. No official communication will follow, but there is no reason to change the staff,” Bossaert said.

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The two sides had flattered to deceive in their group games until they both earned convincing wins in their final matches to earn progression.

Both sides’ faults were clear throughout the game, but so were their strengths.

Pedri’s own goal was a horrible outlier in an otherwise fantastic debut international knockout game performance for the Barcelona starlet.

His 49-yard mistake is the longest-ever own goal in the European Championships and the first own-goal to be scored outside of the box.

However, Pedri and his side recovered to march into a 3-1 lead deep into the second half.

Pedri has completed 21/22 passes in the 1st half whilst creating a big chance for Koke & then helping orchestrate the Spain equaliser. 18 years old – this kid is special.

— Premier League Panel (@PremLeaguePanel) June 28, 2021

The Croatian defence struggled to contain Luis Enrique’s Spanish side, who are known for creating chances.

Cesar Azpilicueta became Spain’s oldest goalscorer at the competition while Ferran Torres became the youngest to score and assist at a major tournament for Spain since Cesc Fabregas v Russia at Euro 2008.

Dinamo Zagreb star and slayer of Tottenham Hotspur had something to say in reply.

The 28-year-old netted his side’s second after a desperate scramble in the Spain box and assisted their injury-time equaliser, a Mario Pasalic header.

Pasalic became the fifth Atalanta player to score at Euro 2020, with the club becoming only the fourth to reach that achievement.

Enrique’s failure to utilise players on his bench with the ability to help close games out (Marcos Llorente and Thiago Alcantara) cost him.

Dani Olmo is the first player to assist 2+ goals in a knockout game at #EURO2020.

He did it in the space of just three extra-time minutes too. pic.twitter.com/tjhn5CVChx

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 28, 2021

However, his decision to bring on Dani Olmo put the game back in the hands of the Spaniards as the RB Leipzig star crafted two excellent goals to kill the game in extra time.

As well as Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini, Julian Nagelsmann can take pride in Euro 2020.

Patrik Schick has been on fire in the competition and Dani Olmo’s performance adds to the list of Leipzig players with good performances at the competition.

The game is the second-highest-scoring match in the history of the competition, after France 5-4 Yugoslavia in 1960.

Spain also became the first side to score five goals in consecutive matches at the competition, after beating Slovakia 5-0 last Wednesday.

They march on to the quarter-finals, where a date with hard-working Switzerland awaits.

Switzerland v Spain kicks off at 5 pm on Friday, July 2nd.

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Slovakia & Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has been ruled out action for at least a month. He sustained a knee injury in last Saturday’s 1-0 win away to Southampton. The Slovak FA also confirmed last week that the upcoming playoff against Ireland on Thursday 26th March will now be played behind closed doors as part of attempts to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Dubravka sustained the injury in a clash with Southampton striker Danny Ings. The game was halted in the 59th minute as the keeper received treatment. However, he played on for the full 90. An assessment after the game showed the knock was more serious than first thought.

The 31-year-old Newcastle United keeper has nailed down the no.1 spot at St.James Park since his move from Sparta Prague in January 2018.

Italian problem

Head coach Pavel Hapal also has concerns about the availability of his Italian based players. Seven of his squad play with Italian clubs. Two of his squad were due to face each other last week. Stanislav Lobotka’s Napoli side were due to play Milan Skriniar’s Inter in the Coppa Italia semi-final on Thursday last. That fixture was postponed. Last weekend’s Serie A fixtures were played behind closed doors. All fixtures have since been cancelled in Italy.

Hapal will await further developments in Italy with interest. The availability of his Italian based players has been cast into further doubt today. Roma were not permitted to travel to Spain for their Europa League clash with Sevilla. Inter Milan’s tie at home to Getafe is also off.

There are currently 10,000 confirmed cases in Italy. The country has entered a strict lockdown. In Slovakia, there have only been  10 confirmed cases to date. The European Championship play-off against Ireland in the National Football Stadium in Bratislava will now be played behind closed doors. The decision was made by the Slovak Football Association in conjunction with Governmental advice.

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