O’Neill expects backlash from beaten Belgium

Despite defeat at the hands of Italy, Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill believes Belgium have the best individuals at Euro 2016.

Pressed on how a likely enforced change could alter his starting line-up for the Group E clash with Belgium, O’Neill opted to lighten the mood, while also remaining tight-lipped.

Belgium are now bottom of the group after losing their opening game 2-0 to Italy.

“If we win against Belgium, I think that four points would take us into a group of teams that might qualify”.

“They have, if you look at them, the most talented set of individual players at the tournament, they are very, very unsafe”, O’Neill says of Marc Wilmots’ side.

According to RTE, he told reporters: “This idea that Italy are a has-been side has been totally negated”.

“Belgium are a very, very risky side”. They have players playing big, big matches everv single week at club level but they can only do so much as individuals.

“Jon Walters would obviously be the main concern and he will be pretty doubtful for the second game”, said manager Martin O’Neill. The message we are trying to get through to our players, what we are trying to do, is to be confident on the ball, deal with it, and that was the most impressive thing of all from the [Sweden] game for me, that the players believed that they could play, take time to get out and play. They will be very strong, very strong.

He aggravated it again during the 1-1 opener with Sweden on Monday evening.

The Republic cancelled their scheduled training session at their Versailles base on Tuesday morning as the players instead were put through a light recovery session, but it is understood Walters was not involved as he underwent treatment.