The German football revolution is in full swing and Joachim Lowe has assembled the most ruthless German team in some time. Focused on youth, flair and strength this German side will be around for years to come, especially with the production line still rolling out youngsters. Ever since World Cup 2010 everyone saw what a newly formed team could do, they have had two years since that to mould into a brutal side. Playing a 4-2-3-1 formation the Germans bossed the group of death, winning all 3 games relatively comfortably. The strength in depth the Germans have was showcased in the quarter final against Greece when they played a younger side and still beat them 4-2.
I don't foresee Mr Lowe changing a winning formula any time soon so my Team selection will be no surprise to many of you. At Goalkeeper, who else but the Giant Neuer? The Munich shot stopper is fast becoming one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world and at such a young age, he will be around for a while yet. At right back, the only potential weak link in the Teutonic armour, Jerome Boateng. Naturally a centre back the German shows this fact and looked out of sorts against Ronaldo. Nonetheless a good defender and is still young enough to advance his ability. The Two centre-backs, Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber. Both have had sterling seasons for their respective clubs and have brought that form with them, instilling a sense of calm, simple and ruthless defensive state of mind, these two are hard to break.
At left back, the German legend- Phillip Lahm. Incredible experience has made Lahm an incredible defender no matter where he plays. The two holding midfielders- Schweinsteiger and Khedira (assuming they are both fit). These two lynch pins hold the line in front of the defence and Khedira sits further back to allow Schweinsteiger space to run the game for Germany, picking passes with ease and opening up defences. At attacking midfield and centre forward we have Podolski, Ozil and Müller. Podolski the new Arsenal man brings pace and a cannon for a left foot. Ozil is a the pass master and one tricky customer for any defence, chipping and crossing everywhere and at the age of 22 he still has a lot to learn...scary. Müller is only 21 and is already shaping up to be one heck of a centre forward, quick and with a very good finishing ability this man is a nightmare for any defence. Finally, leading the line, assuming he is fit, Mario Gomez. The Spanish-born front-man is lethal in front of goal, clinical one-touch finishes and brilliant in the air.
Italy, once a team focussed on being hard to break down. Now have a number of lethal weapons at their disposal. The flair and clinical ability, if not arrogance, of Mr Balotelli. The venerable grand-master passer, Andrea Pirlo and the ever-present goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
Italy qualified for the Euros at the top of their group with 8 wins and 2 draws, they then proceeded to qualify from the group stage with Spain, knocking Croatia out. They therefore have been solid and during the group stage employed a bizaare 3-5-2 formation that allowed Pirlo room to move and run the game. The Italians proceeded to beat England in the quarters on penalties 4-2 with the grandmaster Pirlo running the game from start to finish and finishing with a cheeky chip only he would dare to pull off.
Cesar Prandelli has other options up front and all over the park, but with Chiellini maybe not back to full fitness and a whole host of opportunities to finish England in normal time wasted, he may be tempted to change. Therefore my lineup will contain a few changes. At goalkeeper, there is of course Gianluigi Buffon, who else? The goalkeeper has been tried and tested and never lets Italy down in big games, after having an unbeaten season with Juve as well, the keeper will be confident. At left back Balzaretti, packing good pace and a solid wing-back he gets forward regularly to help out the team attack. At the two centre positions Barzagli and Bonucci, both again enjoying unbeaten runs at Juve and are a relatively solid pairing but looked a little weak against Andy Carroll and with Germany's aerial strength they may struggle. At right-back we have Ignazio Abate, AC Milan's wing-back has been decent this season and packs a bundle of pace. He will undoubtedly attack down the flanks, this could possibly leave spaces for the likes of Ozil and Podolski to exploit.
The middle 3, I propose will be Montolivo, Pirlo and Marchisio. All three are world-class passers of the ball and can cut open any defence, especially the mighty Pirlo. In an attacking role, right behind 2 strikers, I put Nocerino, he looked dangerous when he arrived against England and I believe he has a lot to offer the Italians. Up front we have the two headline acts, literally. Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli. Both are hot-headed but nonetheless incredibly talented strikers with a tendency to acheive the impossible. With Pirlo feeding the ball these two strikers are Italy's lethal weapons.
On this game, I have to favour the mighty Germans on this. Their fantastic ability to rip any team apart will rip Italy apart. The attacing quartet for Germany supplemented by Schweinstegier will be simply too strong for Italy and the solid German defence will put the dampeners on Italy's attacking play. I predict a 3-1 scoreline as Italy do have enough quality to grab at least a goal. But I feel that Italy will bear the brunt... of an all time Lowe.
Thanks for reading.
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