Germany vs Italy

Germany

Reigning World Cup champions Germany come into this game having strolled to a relatively routine 3-0 win over debutants Slovakia. It was a match that was one-sided from start to finish, and in fact, Joachim Löw’s men certainly could have netted a few more goals. More important, it marked the first time fans really started to see a glimpse of the “real” Germany, and it appears they can only get better from here.

Germany managed to top their group without much effort, and as a result were rewarded with a pretty easy draw in the round of 16. However, the difficulty level now has been really cranked up a couple of notches, and die Mannschaft will subsequently have to step up their performance if they hope to overcome Italy and book a spot in the final four.

After a slow start, Germany are finally starting to get rolling as they earned a comfortable 3-0 win over Slovakia in the round of 16

Fortunately for Löw, he will have a full strength line-up available, as it appears that key defender Jerome Boateng has shaken off a knock to re-claim his positing in the starting XI. Only defender Jonas Hector, who is struggling with illness, could potentially miss out if he doesn’t recover in time.

Thomas Müller is one player who is still waiting to open his Euro account. Despite his impressive World Cup tally (ten goals in just two appearances), the Bayern Munich star has yet to find the back of the net in his past nine Euro appearances.

Müller’s Euro drought continues at this tournament – will he finally end it against Italy on Saturday?

Italy

Meanwhile, Italy so far have been experiencing an excellent tournament. Save for a final group stage loss to Ireland, the Azzurri have been solid defensively and decent enough on the offensive front. The defeat to Ireland, which featured second-choice shot-stopper Salvatore Sirigu as well as a crop of fringe players, marked the only time Antonio Conte’s men have conceded so far.

The Azzurri will be full of confidence after defeating reigning champions Spain 2-0 in their round of 16 tie. It marked the first tie since the 1994 World Cup that they had finally gotten the better of them, and now they will have to take on another heavyweight with Germany next on the roster.

After two poor World Cups, Italy are keen on redeeming themselves on the international stage, and they have certainly made some positive progress in this. However, Conte will have some selection headaches ahead of their tie this weekend, especially in midfield. Veteran Thiago Motta is suspended after picking up a second yellow against Spain and the highly experienced Daniele De Rossi is pretty certain to miss out due to injury. Antonio Candreva, however may be able to feature in some capacity after missing out on the game versus Spain.

Although their attack isn’t the most glamorous, it’s effective and gets the job done. Graziano Pelle in particular has been key in their success, and the Southampton man has a knack for scoring very, very late. In fact, his two goals so far have arrived in the 90th minute or later and have sealed wins against Belgium and Spain.

Germany will want to keep a close eye on Pelle for the entire 90 minutes – both of his goals have arrived in the last moments of the game

Germany vs Italy – Did you know?

• Germany are the only team yet to concede a goal at Euro 2016. They were tied on this with Poland before the White Eagles gave up a goal against Switzerland in the round of 16
• The last time they achieved this was at the 1978 World Cup (first four games)
• Brazil’s Oscar was the last player to score past Manuel Neuer. This was during Germany’s 7-1 rout of Brazil at the 2014 World Cup
• This means that Neuer is currently on an impressive 480 minute streak without conceding
• Italy have won three out of their first four games so far. Their best performance at a Euro tournament is four wins (in 2000)
• Italy are the most carded team so far at Euro 2016 – with a whopping 13 yellows in just four games
• The Azzurri have kept 19 clean sheets in 37 Euro games. This is an all-time record; Germany has 18 clean sheets in 47 Euro matches
•  Although Germany beat Italy 4-1 in their last meeting, die Mannschaft have never beaten Italy in a major tournament
• Their record so far is four wins and four draws, and Italy have beaten them in every single one of their last four knockout meetings
• This includes the semi-finals at Euro 2012, as well as the semi’s of the 2006 and 1970 World Cups, and the final of the 1982 World Cup
• Germany have reached the semi-finals in their last five big tournaments (starting with the 2006 World Cup)
• Their sole loss out of their last 17 tournament games (14 wins, two draws) was against Italy (2-1 in the Euro 2012 semi-finals)
• Don’t be surprised if the first 45 ends 0-0. 15 out of the 18 goals between these two sides have come after half-time. And seven have been in extra time