Germany Vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals: Italy Not Entirely Toothless

Germany are a better team than Italy, and they don't have the problems with fitness that their semifinal opponents do. However, that doesn't mean that they're going to be able to cruise to a win - if they let Italy play the sort of silky midfield-centric football that they'd like, they're going to be in trouble. A case in point: They just let a flick bust open their whole midfield, allowing Andrea Pirlo to advance against Holger Badstuber.

That worked out OK for Germany, as did Mario Balotelli's attempt to blitz past Mats Hummels a few minutes later, but they can't make the same sort of mistake that... well, everyone has so far. Don't let Pirlo have the ball, or he will make you sad. Then again, the same could be said of Mesut Ozil, and the Germans are always dangerous...