The Germans will be fearless against Italy in their quarter-final clash on early Monday morning, despite having a bad track record facing them in major tournaments, said coach Joachim Loew.
The 4-time world champion and 3-time European champion have lost to the Azzurri whenever they met in the knockout stages of the World Cup and European Championships, including the semi-final of ’70 World Cup, the final of ’82 World Cup, the semi-final of ’06 World Cup and the semi-final of Euro 2012.
Loew was in charge during the 2012 defeat, a match that might still be haunting the players who lost 2-0 despite being the favourites.
“We’ve never beaten them in the tournament, but we are not afraid of Italy. I don’t overthink on past results,” he said.
“They are now a different team. That was an old cup of coffee, the current espresso is fresh and I hope it’ll taste better in the match,” said Loew as he made a comparison with his preferred caffeinated drink.
Italy advanced to the last-eight after knocking out defending champions Spain with a comprehensive 2-0 victory.
Loew, who led Die Mannchaft to their 2014 World Cup glory said his players are fully rested and they are ready to face Antonio Conte’s side in Bordeaux.
“We are not afraid of them. We know what we can do and if we can execute our game plan, then we’ll stand a high chance in winning,” he said.
Both teams last met in a friendly match last March, where the Germans won 4-1.
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