With the defending champions Spain already into the finals of this year’s Euro after defeating Portugal on penalties, the second semi final, which is to be played at the National Stadium in Warsaw, will see a strong German side taking on the resilient Italians. Both the teams, with nothing to lose, will have a go at each other once the kick-off whistle blows.
This will be the two sides’ first meeting since they played in the semifinal of the 2006 World Cup where Italy won and went on to win the tournament. Germany are the only team with a 100 percent record at Euro 2012 and have marched into the last four after comfortably dispatching Greece 4-2 in the quarters.
The Italians, on the other hand, beat England on penalties to reach the semis and in Andrea Pirlo have arguably one the players of the tournament so far.
The Germans actually waltzed through the so-called "Group of Death," defeating Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark on their way to topping their group. They then beat Greece emphatically to get to the semifinal. The Germans have racked up nine goals and conceded four on their way to the semifinal, and will be a tough test for any opponent.
The Italians tied with Spain and Croatia before defeating Ireland on the way to second place in their group. They were unable to make a breakthrough against England and had to wait until penalties to assure their spot in the semifinal. The Italians have scored four goals and conceded two on their way to the semifinal.
Currently on a world-record 15 game winning streak, Germany will be supremely confident going into this game. Moreover, Joachim Low's men have no reason to worry heading into this game with Bastian Schweinsteiger speaking about his ankle problems. The Bayern Munich midfielder has since announced himself fit for the game.
Italy, however, will be hoping that Giorgio Chiellini gets fit in time to face the Germans. But fitness, at the moment, seems to be a major concern for Cesare Prandelli's side as midfielder Daniele de Rossi and right-back Ignazio Abate are already suffering with sciatica and muscle problems, respectively.
As far as other players are concerned, Christian Maggio will be one definite miss for the squad due to his collection of yellow cards, and Alessandro Diamanti will remain on the bench despite his cameo and match-winning penalty.
Germany’s predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Bender, Hummels, Badstuber, Lahm; Khedira, Schweinsteiger; Muller, Ozil, Reus; Gomez.
Italy’s predicted line-up (4-3-1-2): Buffon; Abate, Barzagli, Chiellini, Balzaretti; De Rossi, Pirlo, Marchisio; Montolivo; Balotelli, Cassano.
Nonetheless, the Italians may feel confident from the fact that both the teams having played each other 30 times, the Italians lead the series with 14 wins. The Germans have seven wins to their name, and the teams have tied nine times.
Moreover, as strange as it may sound, the Germans are winless against Italy in the Euros and World Cup. Many of the encounters have been classics, and if the Italians manage to push the game to extra time, Germany should be very worried.
In their most recent clash, Italy dumped hosts Germany out of the 2006 World Cup semifinals by scoring two goals in the last two minutes of extra time after 119 minutes of scoreless football. Italy went on the win the World Cup a few days later.
Fact check: In the 1970 World Cup, both sides got on the scoresheet in extra time, but Italy notched three goals to West Germany's two in what was dubbed the Game of the Century. Italy then lost the final to Brazil.
The game is set to start at 2:45 pm, ET and 7 pm, BST and the coverage will be provided by ESPN and TSN2. The game will also be covered by BBC One and through BBC Radio 5, as well as the official UEFA Web site. The highlights will be available on BBC One and the BBC sport Web site.
You can watch the live stream of the game on ESPN3, Firstrowsports or foxsoccer2go.com. Moreover, sites like goal.com and soccernet will also follow the game and provide real-time text updates.
