Germany Versus Italy World Cup Preview

Dortmund July 4, 2006 - Germany/Italy

My Pick: Italy

The FIFA World cup 2006 reaches its climax as hosts Germany take on Italy for a spot in the final in Dortmund on Tuesday. This is the first World Cup since 1982 not to have a South American team in the semifinals. And in that edition, Italy beat West Germany 3-1 in the finals to take home the cup. The Italians haven't won the World Cup since then and the closest they have come is the 1994 final where they lost to Brazil on penalties.

The Italians are an organized unit in defense and have no dearth of attacking talent. In Marcello Lippi they have an astute tactician and the Germans will be aware of the uphill task they have at hand. The Italians got past Australia thanks to a dubious penalty but were impressive in their 3-0 win over Oleg Blokhin coached Ukraine. This may be an indication that the Azzuri may have well peaked at the right time. They will be again without Alessandro Nesta, as the Milan defender has not recovered yet from his groin injury.

Luca Toni scored a brace in the quarterfinal against Ukraine to open his goal scoring. Enthusiasts might well remember that Paolo Rossi the winner of the golden boot in 1982 also started his scoring in the 3rd last game of the tournament. Deja Vu, anybody??? Fabio Grosso, Gianluca Zambrotta and Gennaro Gattuso are on yellows. Camoranesi is battling to be fit as he is struggling with a knee injury.

The Germans upset World Cup favorites Argentina to reach the semi finals. Their hero was Jens Lehmann, who saved penalties from Ayala and Cambiasso. That win has raised the hopes of an expectant nation and Klinsmann's boys would want to repay the faith of their fans with a spot in the final. However Lehmann and his back four will not have it easy against Alberto Gilardino, Luca Toni and the crafty Francesco Totti. This World Cup hasn't really seen the best of Totti yet, but the Roma playmaker has improved with every game and this might just be the game where he unleashes himself. As for the Germans, Klinsmann has transformed them from a defensive side to a side, which loves to attack. This transformation has won them more fans, but has also left minute cracks in defense, which could be exploited by the Italians.

Torsten Frings is out of this game after FIFA suspended him for punching Julio Cruz in the post match fracas between Germany and Argentina. This will most probably mean Tim Borowski would come in to partner captain Michael Ballack. The German skipper has been an inspiration for his team and even took a penalty against Argentina despite being in pain.

My verdict:
History is against Germany. They have never won against Italy in the World Cup. They were also handed a 4-1 pre WC friendly defeat that nearly cost Jurgen Klinsmann his job. However home support might just prove to be the decisive factor as both the teams are equally matched. But I feel the Italians will claw their way through into the final, be it by diving or producing a superlative performance. The pressure is on Germany as they have clearly been the better side in this tournament, but at stages like this, past tournament form counts for nothing. The better team or even the luckier one will win this, and that according to me will be Italy.