Germany vs. Italy – Watch Euro 2012 Online Live Stream and Live Blog
The Euro 2012 semi final Germany vs. Italy takes place Thursday in an intriguing encounter between two of the most successful soccer nations on the planet. Germany are favorites for this match, yet amazingly they have never beaten Italy in a major tournament before. The match kicks off at 2.45 p.m. EST and can be watched live on ESPN, or fans can watch online through live stream on ESPN3 (link below).
Germany had the luxury of resting Mario Gomez, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Mueller against an inferior Greece side in the quarter finals, and all three may be recalled for today's game against Italy. German fans will be glad to hear key player Bastian Schweinsteiger has been declared fit for the game despite needing treatment for his ankle injury.
Schweinsteiger has said prior to the game: "I am 100% fit and very much looking forward to the game. I have trained twice fully and I feel good."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Loew has commented on midfielder Schweinsteiger: "He has fantastic stamina. We will get a good performance [from him]. He is one of our leaders. He has matured tremendously over the last few years and I think in the first three group games he was very good."
Italy have a number of injury worries coming into Thursday's game; Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele De Rossi and Ignazio Abate are all injury doubts, and coach Cesare Prandelli may have to change things up significantly for the match. In addition, Christian Maggio is suspended for today's semi final.
Italy have complained of the scheduling at Euro 2012, which sees their team having two full days less rest than their competitors since their respective quarter finals. That could be key as the game wears on, and especially if the match goes into extra time, which will require a tired, older Italy team to keep up the tempo for another 30 minutes.
The last meeting between Germany and Italy was in the 2006 World Cup, when Italy won 2-0 in another semi final encounter. Some believe that will remain in the minds of the two teams today, and could put doubts in the heads of the more inexperienced German team. German coach Joachim Loew, however has said, "In football there is no such thing as revenge. The past plays absolutely no role for us or for our young players who may know things only from history."
Italy and Germany are two of the most prestigious soccer nations in the world, and today's encounter should be a fantastic game. Germany vs. Italy kicks off at 2.45 p.m. EST and can be watched live on ESPN or online through live streaming on ESPN3 by clicking HERE.
Also a live blog of today's game between Germany and Italy can be found by CLICKING HERE.
