Goals from Francesco Totti and Stefano Fiore earned Italy victory against Belgium and breathing space at the summit of Group B as the co-hosts stumbled in Brussels.

Totti dispatched a sixth-minute header and Fiore added a stylish second after the break to crush Belgium's resistance and secure Italy a place in the quarter-finals where they will meet the runner-up from Group A.

Both sides had emerged triumphant from their opening Group B matches and Dino Zoff's decision to keep faith with Totti was richly rewarded after murmurs that Alessandro Del Piero's sparkling substitute performance against Turkey would earn him a starting place.

Paolo Maldini, the Italian captain, was passed fit after a troublesome calf injury and made his presence felt as Italy held the early ascendancy in the King Baudouin Stadium.

After a generous 24 goals in eight Euro 2000 encounters, the law of averages suggested that a dour encounter was due, but attacking football prevailed once again with the seductive incentive of Group B supremacy at stake.

It was Italy who seized the initiative as Belgium's defence made another slack start and were punished ruthlessly.

Maldini and Filippo Inzaghi were denied by a superb double save from Filip De Wilde after five minutes but Belgium failed to heed the warning signs and paid the price a minute later as Totti took time out from adjusting his headband to convert Demetrio Albertini's right-wing free-kick with clinical precision.

After failing to learn from their early deficiencies against Sweden, Belgium strode forward determined to make amends and were unfortunate not to restore parity after a spell of sustained pressure.

After nine minutes Bart Goor was denied his second goal of Euro 2000 when a combination of Francesco Toldo's fingertips and the frame of the goal denied his searing drive.

Toldo stood firm as Belgium attacked in numbers, thwarting Emile Mpenza's low shot and a succession of efforts from Marc Wilmots as the influential midfielder dictated the tempo from midfield.

The co-hosts continued to attack with some panache but too many goal attempts were purely speculative, barely testing a keeper of Toldo's class, and half time arrived with Belgium still striving to find a cutting edge to atone for their sluggish start.

Lorenzo Staelens almost restored parity in the opening minute of the second half but again Toldo prevailed, springing to his left to turn the Belgian captain's shot round the post.

Nonetheless, the trend had been set and Belgium enjoyed the lion's share of the possession but struggled to expose a chink in the Italians' armour with Mpenza stifled by a disciplined defence.

Italy's failure to marshal Wilmots nearly cost them dearly after 52 minutes but the Belgian midfielder flashed another header beyond the far post after a corner from the right.

As the procession of squandered chances continued, a hint of desperation punctuated Belgium's play and Italy's counter-attacking gradually came to the fore.

Luc Nilis entered the fray with little over half-an-hour remaining but he merely joined the queue of Belgians to be thwarted by Toldo as the Italian keeper excelled again from a free-kick after 63 minutes.

The co-hosts' woes were compounded three minutes later when Fiore engineered a fabulous goal to reiterate Italy's threat on the break.

The Udinese midfielder has been a prominent force in Serie A this season and a characteristic surge ended with an exchange of passes with Inzaghi and a sublime, curling finish from 20 yards.

Belgium persevered but Italy's obdurate defence stood firm to secure Zoff's men a place at the summit of Group B and a berth in the quarter-finals.