Germany are through to the semi-finals of the European Championship after a thrilling penalty shoot-out win over Italy at the Stade de Bordeaux earlier today.
Joachim Loew’s men went into the game as slight underdogs, judging by Italy’s excellent performance in the tournament, coupled with Germany’s poor record against the Italians in major tournaments. That evidently influenced their approach to the match, as Loew opted for a 3-5-2 formation, similar to Antonio Conte’s system.
The formation shift allowed Germany to be far more compact at the back, particularly in dealing with Graziano Pelle and Eder. But unfortunately for neutrals, the first half turned out to be a drab one, with both sides cancelling each other out.
In the second half though, Germany broke the deadlock on the 65th minute mark. Mario Gomez showed excellent vision on the left flank, setting up Hector with an fantastic pass. The Cologne full-back then crossed into the six-yard box, with Mesut Ozil firing home to make it 1-0 on the night.
But merely 13 minutes later, Italy were level again, thanks to Leonardo Bonucci’s clinical spot-kick, after Jerome Boateng has blatantly handled the ball inside the area. The score line remained till the end of extra time and that’s when the drama ensued.
18 penalties were taken, with Germany eventually triumphing 6-5, thanks to Hector’s decisive kick. Four Italian players missed their spot-kicks, including Simone Zaza, who was merely brought on at the end of extra time, to be included in the list of spot-kick takers.
Germany will either face France or Iceland in the semi-finals, depending on the outcome of that match. In the meantime, here are three players that impressed tonight!
Manuel Neuer
Considering the match was largely cagey, there was very little for Neuer to do during the match, but he was absolutely spot-on during the penalties. He made two fantastic saves, denying Bonucci, before saving Darmian’s horrid attempt, which eventually allowed Hector to slot the winning spot-kick. He’s an incredible presence to have within the team, isn’t he? The Germans can head into any spot-kick situations, knowing that they’ve got an excellent goalkeeper to depend on.
Mario Gomez
Much of Germany’s struggles in this tournament have been attributed to their inability to find a player that’s suited to the No. 9 role. Of course they had Mario Gomez, but he was a faded player, wasn’t he? Today, the ex-Bayern man proved his mettle yet again, showing the world why he deserved to lead Germany’s line. Gomez was hard-working, and constantly attempted to find space for himself upfront. He was ultimately involved in Germany’s goal, and could have even scored one, if not for Buffon’s stunning reflex save.
Leonardo Bonucci
The Italians really know how to defend, don’t they? Bonucci was a class act throughout the match. In fact, the only blip in his performance was the spot-kick he failed to convert, after extra-time. Otherwise, the Juventus defender was focused and read the game brilliantly for a total of 120 minutes. And let’s face it, his equalizer for Italy was absolutely clinical, despite the weight of pressure on his shoulders.
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