Roy Keane: Italy will be too much for England

Posted Sunday, June 24, 2012 by Goal.com

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has stated that he thinks England have underestimated Italy ahead of their Euro 2012 quarter-final on Sunday.

Keane feels that England will find the match a struggle and that they may already have celebrated the fact that they avoided a match against Spain after finishing top of their group.

"I just have a sneaky feeling for Italy," he told ITV.com. "The England boys seem to be on a high from avoiding Spain, and subconsciously they might underestimate the Italians."

The former Sunderland boss said that Danny Welbeck up front will provide England with a good attacking option, but whether that will be enough to see them progress through to the next round is another question entirely.

He continued: "You would have to stick with Danny Welbeck up front; he's had good chemistry with Wayne Rooney at [Manchester] United this season and has scored an important goal against Sweden."

Keane also stated that Italy striker Mario Balotelli could be a match winner, despite receiving perhaps more attention for his off-field antics than for his on-field displays in the past year.

He added: "You have to hope he does it on the pitch, and if he's not you have to take him off, but on his days he's a match winner."