A new era for both nations will begin in the upcoming UEFA Nations League Group A clash between Italy and Belgium.

Both have new managers in charge as they look to go in a new direction, and their first tests will be a tricky tie against each other on Saturday, September 26, at 04:45 AEST.

Quick Picks

Our pick: Italy win

Value bet: Italy Result & Both to Score

Long shot: Italy To Win Both Halves

Betting Preview

Italy’s dismal run as a national team continued throughout the winter, as they incredibly missed out on playing in the World Cup for the third consecutive time.

Now, they’ve turned to a man who brought them some of their most recent success in an attempt to bring them back to the top of the game – Roberto Mancini.

Set to take control of the team for a second term, Mancini led the Azzurri to glory at Euro 2020 in the rearranged tournament. Since then, it has been disastrous for Italy.

Mancini’s first squad initially comprised 34 players, including nine uncapped and 11 aged under 23. Pio Esposito was the only player younger than 24 to have played for the Azzurri between June 2025 and February 2026, so there’s clearly been a shift in thinking.

However, Belgium are also looking for a new dawn. Mark Van Bommel has replaced Rudi Garcia as head coach following a disappointing winter tournament.

The Red Devils were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Spain. Arguably, they weren’t on top form in that competition, with Spain’s quality ousting them after they had managed to grind results out in the Group Stage.

Van Bommel has already confirmed his team will play with a 4-3-3 formation, keeping much of the previous squad together. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are involved, while Mika Godts and Romeo Lavia have returned. 

Axel Witsel has retired, while Alexis Saelemaekers and Thomas Meunier miss out.

Betting Markets to Watch

When betting on European football, Italy have been made the early favourites, which will perhaps be due to having home advantage and having a manager who knows what it takes to win at this level for a country with big demands.

Italy’s H2H with Belgium is also extremely positive. In fact, they haven’t lost in the last five meetings, with four wins (1D). They met in the 2024 edition of the Nations League, and won 1-0 before drawing 2-2 in Italy.

Of the five most recent fixtures, the ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ hit on three occasions, with the BTTS hitting in each of those. The other two games saw Italy keep clean sheets (1-0, 2-0). 

Still, we think there’s value in both of these to happen in this one, as both get underway with new starts.

As a result, we think there’s some value in the ‘Result & Both to Score’ market with the Italy outcome. If you are new to result-based markets, it helps to understand what win-draw-win means before backing an outcome like this.

Our Prediction

Check the latest Italy vs Belgium betting odds at Sportsbet.

We think an Italy win is the most likely outcome.

Our long shot is in the ‘To Win Both Halves’ market, with the Italy outcome offering good value. We think the Azzurri have enough about them to score in both halves and protect the lead they take under Mancini.