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With the club season having come to an end across Europe, the focus switches back to international football and the latest cycle of the UEFA Nations League is underway. The clash between Italy and Germany, to be hosted at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna is expected to be one of the highlights from the first round of fixtures.
Italy are arriving into this clash on the back of what has been a horrific and disappointing year. The European champions have failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the second time in a row after a miserable outing in the playoffs.
Italy finished second behind Switzerland with four wins and four draws in Group C of the World Cup qualifying campaign and thus, were drawn in the playoff rounds. What should’ve been a comfortable qualification route for the European champions proved to be a nightmare as Italy ended up losing to North Macedonia 0-1 in the first game and their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar came to an end.
After a relatively meaningless friendly win over Turkey only a few days after their loss to North Macedonia, Italy came together to contest the final of ‘La Finalissima’ to be played between the champions of Europe and South America.
It ended in a complete capitulation as the Lionel Messi-led Argentine side ran riot against the European champions and ended up winning 3-0. The only positive for Italy on the night was that the scoreline didn’t get any worse which it could’ve easily been.
La Finalissima was also the seat of a symbolic change of guard as long-time servant of the national team Giorgio Chiellini bade farewell to La Nazionale – making his 117th and final appearance in the iconic light-blue jersey.
Also read 👉 Finalissima 2022: Messi stars as Argentina run rampant in win over Italy
While Germany are no strangers to losing to North Macedonia either, suffering a 1-2 defeat at home, they have managed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar quite comprehensively. That defeat proved to be their only loss in the World Cup qualifying campaign as the 2014 world champions won nine of their 10 fixtures to comfortably top Group J and book their tickets to the middle east Asian country.
Germany will also be buoyed under new manager Hansi Flick who was the assistant to Joachim Low when they conquered the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. Flick also won the treble with Bayern Munich in 2020 and now oversees an exciting crop of young players.
During the international break in March, Germany had secured a 2-0 win over Israel before being held to a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands. They have been drawn into League A Group 3 of the Nations League along with England, Italy and Hungary.
Germany’s recent failures in the final years of Joachim Low has put them in a state of transition. Flick will be interested to find out the mettle of his side against the finalists of the Euro Cup as well as Hungary team who have caused problems before.
Key players
Marco Verratti’s presence was sorely missed in La Finalissima where Argentina completely controlled the midfield and made several inroads into the Italy half time and time again. Verratti is expected to be fit and ready for this encounter and when in form, he is the best player in the side.
Leonardo Bonucci is no stranger to big matches having seen and played them all. The responsibility on his shoulders will be even greater now following the departure of his long-time partner Chiellini. The Juventus centre-half will hope to maintain a tight backline after Italy conceded three goals in the previous match against Argentina.
Thomas Muller continues to be a lethal presence upfront for both Bayern Munich and Germany. He had yet another successful season with the Bavarian club where they lifted the Bundesliga title for the 10th time in a row and Muller has been a part of every single success. The player scored 13 goals and assisted another 25 to his teammates across all competitions for Bayern this season.
Antonio Rudiger has completed his move to Real Madrid as a free agent. Rudiger has been one of the most reliable defenders in the world over the past couple of years. His presence will be highly missed in the Chelsea backline. Rudiger provides physicality, athleticism and is also good on the ball in the heart of the defence.
Prediction
Few would’ve predicted Italy’s downfall after they were on the road to resurgence under Roberto Mancini. Italy went on a 37-match unbeaten streak that peaked at last summer’s European Championships. However, they have been extremely underwhelming recently and Germany are expected to have the upper hand.
Germany have come a long way in their development under Flick and are showing signs of a proper unit. The likes of Muller, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, and Werner constitute a strong frontline that can create chances and score goals for fun.
