Italy – Germany

The Italian national team will delight their fans in their first playoff encounter

Italy and Germany's clash in the Nations League quarter-finals can be defined as the most star-studded one. The Italians' tournament journey in the current draw started in a way that couldn't have been better. The team travelled to Paris, where they scored two more goals against the vice world champions and semi-finalists of the last UEFA EURO. In the following rounds, the Italians dominated Israel and Belgium, but the last game day was unsuccessful allowing France to take revenge and take the final first place. Germany had no problems in the group stage. Over the entire distance of six rounds, the Germans allowed themselves to play away draws with the Netherlands and Hungary, winning all other matches. Before the start of the quarter-final round, Germany is considered the main contender for the title along with Spain. At the same time, Italy occupies only the fifth place of this ranking. In the upcoming meeting bookmakers have not identified a favourite, offering a slightly lower odds on the victory of the guests. In the last Nations League, the Italian national team managed to reach the "Final Four". After being eliminated in the semi-finals, Mancini's team defeated the Netherlands in the match for third place, where the decisive battles took place. The Italians were travelling to Germany for the UEFA EURO as the reigning continental champions. Spaletti's charges failed to justify this status. Not only Italy barely made it to the play-offs, but also lost to Switzerland in the first round with the score 0:2. In the current Nations League, Spaletti's team has played at a higher quality level, so it can not be considered a clear outsider against Germany. The Germans at their home UEFA EURO were also embarrassed. For the national team, which set the highest goals, it is impossible to use as an excuse the departure from the future winners of the tournament at the quarter-final stage. On the other hand, Germany flew through the group stage of the Nations League. At home, the Germans won all three games against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands and Hungary with a total score of 13-0. But away they managed to beat only Bosnia and Herzegovina with a modest 2:1 advantage. In this regard, in Italy, the guests cannot be considered as clear contenders for victory.