Sunday, 27 June 2021 at 15:32• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk

Francesco Acerbi secretly hopes to meet Portugal in the quarterfinals of the European Championship. Italy struggled to make it to the last eight of the tournament on Saturday by beating Austria 2-1 after extra time. On Friday in Saint Petersburg, a duel with Belgium or Portugal awaits: the teams of Roberto Martinez and Fernando Santos meet on Sunday. Acerbi certainly has a preference, at least when it comes to his personal opponent.

Acerbi was asked on Saturday evening who is the most difficult to defend: Cristiano Ronaldo or Romelu Lukaku. “I think Lukaku,” said the Lazio defender. “They are both complete players, but Lukaku is more difficult to defend because he is stronger. He does more on strength and is a real striker. Ronaldo is also a good attacker, but easier to defend than Lukaku.”

Whoever it will be, Acerbi will undoubtedly face a tough night on Russian soil. Ronaldo has already scored five times in the group stage: twice against Hungary (0-3), once in the 2-4 defeat against Germany and twice, from eleven meters, against France (2-2). Lukaku in turn was good for two hits against Russia (3-0) and determined the final score against Finland (0-2 win). He was unable to score against Denmark (1-2 win).

Acerbi didn’t get playing time in the European Championship opening game with Turkey, but then appeared at the starting signal in the subsequent games of Roberto Mancini’s team. The defender provided the assist on Saturday for Matteo Pessina’s winning goal against Austria.

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