Euro 2016: Germany vs Italy - 5 players to look out for
European powerhouses Germany and Italy will lock horns in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 at Bordeaux. This will be their fourth meeting at the Euros and their ninth meeting at a major tournament. Germany are yet to register a win over Italy at a major tournament as in their last eight meetings and have drawn four times and lost four times.
Both teams will be coming at the back of comprehensive victories in the last 16. While Germany thrashed Slovakia 3-0 at Lille, Italy beat holders Spain 2-0 at Saint-Denis. Both sides have been impressive in the tournament so far and their meeting at Bordeaux is bound to be an exciting encounter. With both sides preparing for the all-important game, let’s take a look at five players to look out for.
1) Toni Kroos
The Real Madrid midfielder has established himself as one of the finest midfielders of his generation through his passing accuracy, set-pieces and his ability of set up goals. Kroos began his tournament with a man-of-the-match performance against Ukraine where he broke up the play really well and set up attacks from the middle of the park in addition to providing the free-kick which led to Germany’s opening goal in an eventual 2-0 victory.
Kroos has been in consistent form in Germany’s remaining group games and through his versatility, he has also been able to shield the German defence. The German’s ability to orchestrate the flow of the game along with his versatility makes him a very crucial player for the side ahead of their quarter-final meeting with the Italians.