Clash of the titans

The World champions Germany, have never won against Italy in major tournaments since 1962. This would be playing on the minds of the Germans, who would be looking to settle score against the Azzuri. The Die Mannschaft lived up to their billing as the tournament favourites and hasn’t conceded a goal in the past four games. They even stepped up an ante against Slovakia in their 3-0 win in the Round of 16 and will look for a repeat performance. However, their defence is barely tested in the previous games. It was largely down to the midfield duo of Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos, who controlled the tempo of the game. The Italians, who will defend deep and attack on the counter, will pose a different threat all together for the Germans. The team has no injury woes and left back Jonas Hector, who was out with cold is expected to be fit for the fixture. The side has no notable weakness except for the fact that their attacking players Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller haven’t performed to their billing. The Italians were brilliant in the tournament and produced master class against Belgium and Spain. Antonio Conte’s defensive 3-5-2 formation worked wonders for the Italians as they were not only solid in defense but fabulous on the counter-attack. Juventus’ defensive trio of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonnuci and Andrea Barzagli were unbeatable at back and they have an additional insurance between the sticks - Gianluigi Buffon. Graziano Pelle and Eder are complementing each other well at front. But the concerns for the Italians lie in the midfield. Holdings midfielders Daniele De Rossi, Thiago Motta are injured, suspended and Conte doesn’t have like-to-like replacements in the squad. In all likelihood he would start Stefano Sturaro, who would partner Marco Parolo and Emanuele Giaccherini. Conte was spot on with his tactics against Spain but the Germans too are strong on counter and remains to be seen, what changes he would bring to his side. Though German’s remain favourites on paper, Coach Joachim Low has task cut out as his side would look to settle the score against Italians, which would undoubtedly increase the pressure on them. The match will go down to the wire.