Five talking points: Germany vs Italy

Sport360 staff 08:02 02/07/2016
Rivalry renewed: Italy vs Germany.

Italy and Germany renew their rivalry in Euro 2016 on Saturday night, with the two sides facing off for a place in the semi-finals in France.

Both are leading candidates to claim the title should they advance, but they must first overcome their long-standing rivals to keep those hopes alive.

Sport360 looks at five major talking points ahead of the big game.

Can Gomez get the better of the Italian backline?

Barring a sizeable tactical rethink by Joachim Low (more on that later) Mario Gomez will play as Germany’s No. 9, starting his third straight game.

Gomez ffers greater physicality than Gotze, is an obvious central focal point – other than the other Mario who tends to drift across the pitch – and an underrated finisher. But he faces the competition’s best defence with each of Italy’s trio capable of mixing it physically as well as all being fantastic readers of the game.

In seven matches for Fiorentina against Juve, Gomez scored just once. He’ll need to be Super Mario on Saturday night.

Battle of the long pass masters

Two of the finest proponents of the long pass will be in action tonight with Leonardo Bonucci’s sweeping delivery a vital attacking device for the Azzurri, while Germany’s Jerome Boateng is equally adept at spraying passes from the back if Die Mannschaft need to go more direct.

Neither manager will want the respective centre-backs given too much time on the ball so expect high pressing on the part of the forwards. That means Graziano Pelle and Gomez will need to put in a real shift.

Can Italy restrict Kroos’ rhythm?

Despite being one of the most accomplished midfielders in this tournament, Italy coach Antonio Conte has supposedly identified Toni Kroos as a potential weak link for Germany.

No player has attempted more passes per game (111) than the Real Madrid man but Conte believes he passes to the left too often and if he can be dispossessed quickly, it leaves the German defence very exposed.

In theory it looks a solid plan but as Kroos has shown, he’s a difficult man to shake off the ball.

It’ll be intriguing to see in the open- ing 15 minutes just how pressured he is, although unfortunately for Conte he could have really done with Daniele De Rossi to carry out this job.

Low’s tactical acumen

For all his success in charge of the national team, Low still has his criticis that in a cerebral, tactical battle he will come up short and has merely benefitted from one of the best ever generations of German football.

That is slightly unfair as you don’t win a World Cup by just having a good team but, against Conte, Low takes on one of the game’s great thinkers. The German coach appears now to have settled on his best XI but it will be a real test of his abilities to pick the padlock that is the Italian defence.

Is it time he started Insigne?

Although he came into this tournament after a pretty dismal campaign with Internazionale, Eder has largely confounded expectations and been a standout performer for Italy, offering something different in attack besides the battering ram of Pelle.

However, Lorenzo Insigne has been brilliant in his two cameos for the Azzurri and with Germany’s defence perhaps susceptible to pace and movement, Conte may choose to start the mercurial Napoli forward and try and disrupt them early on.

If not, he’s sure to be used at some stage from the bench.

Recommended