Giaccherini and Pelle strikes earn Italy win over Belgium
Update 11.31pm - Full report
A superbly executed strategy by coach Antonio Conte gave Italy a richly deserved 2-0 win over Belgium in their Euro 2016 Group E match after Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle delivered outstanding goals tonight.
At their vintage best defensively, and threatening time and again on the counter-attack, Italy extended their unbeaten competitive run against the Belgians to 44 years having last lost to them at the 1972 European Championship.
Monday's win put the Azzurri top of the section, with Sweden and Ireland having earlier shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw, while Belgium, despite having a multi-talented generation of players, have plenty of work to do to reach the last 16.
Conte's bold 3-5-2 formation worked to perfection in the first half, with wing-backs Matteo Darmian and Antonio Candreva proving a handful when on the attack and solid defensively.
Usually deployed on the right behind Candreva, Darmian was pushed further upfield on the left and the switch, plus the duo's tireless running, gave Italy's midfield room to operate.
Seemingly on the back foot as a toothless Belgium had more possession, Italy always looked more likely to score and they...