EURO 2016 1/4 Final : Germany 1-1 ItalyGermany win 6-5 on penaltiesHome team scorersMesut Ozil 65
Away team scorersLeonardo Bonucci 78 pen
If there is a sense of deja vu, it is because Germany are making this a habit. It was Euro 2004 when they last failed to reach the semi-final of a major tournament and, once again, they reminded the football world of their unrivalled ability to come out on top in penalty shootouts. No other side does it better even if, on this occasion, they managed to give themselves an almighty scare.
They certainly tempted us to think they might have lost their knack from 12 yards when Thomas Müller, Mesut Özil and Bastian Schweinsteiger failed to score with three their opening five attempts. Those three players can be added to a list that has not been troubled since Uli Stielike missed against France in the 1982 World Cup semi-final and, before that, Uli Hoeness in the 1976 European Championship final against Czechoslovakia. Yet it says something about Germany’s durability that they could still come through despite more shootout misses in the space of a few minutes than the previous 40 years.
Antonio Conte has brought on Simone Zaza in the final seconds of extra time because he was seen as a penalty specialist. Yet his attempt went over the crossbar, Graziano Pellè also missed the target and Manuel Neuer managed to do what was beyond him in normal time, saving from Leonardo Bonucci.
Lorenzo Insigne and Andrea Barzagli were the only two out of Italy’s first five takers to score, with Toni Kroos and Julian Draxler doing likewise for Germany. Emanuele Giacccherini, Marco Parolo and Mattia de Sciglio then score the next three for Italy, with Mats Hummels, Joshua Kimmich and Jérôme Boateng replying for Germany, before Neuer’s save from Matteo Darmian gave Jonas Hector the chance to apply the decisive kick. It was the first time Germany had led in the shootout but, typically, they had found a way on a night that left the great Buffon in tears, possibly contemplating the end of his international career.
Özil had given Germany the lead midway through the second half before Bonucci’s 77th-minute penalty took the game into its extraordinary finale.
Germany, who had not conceded a goal in their previous four tournament matches here, took their time to get going against a well-oiled defence with Müller having their best chance before Ozil broke the deadlock after more than an hour.
Bonucci gave Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer no chance 13 minutes later with a well-placed penalty as Italy, who eliminated holders Spain in the last 16, refused to buckle and sent the game into extra-time and a penalty shootout.
By full-time, these two durable old sides could not be separated and, once again, Germany were finding Italy a difficult side when the heat of the battle is at its most intense. For the first time in Euro 2016 Joachim Löw’s team had been reminded what it is like to concede a goal and at the end of normal time this tense quarter-final had an additional 30 minutes scheduled to determine which side would go into the last four.
For Germany, that represented a considerable disappointment after Mesut Özil had given them the lead midway through the second half. Italy showed great vigour in their response, however. Antonio Conte’s side refused to wilt and the equaliser came in the 77th minute when Jérôme Boating’s handball gave Leonardo Bonucci the chance to score from the penalty spot.
The Azzurri had shown great determination all night and, heading into extra- time, Germany’s record of having never failed to reach the semi-finals of every tournament since Euro 2004 was being threatened.
Behind the goal where Germany’s most boisterous fans were congregated there were four strategically placed banners taking us through a lesson in the history of this great football nation. The first showed the year 1972. The next two were for 1980 and 1996 and the fourth – “…” – posed the question of when they would add to their list of triumphs in the European Championship.
Yet Italy had their own history, having never lost to Germany in their eight previous encounters at major tournaments, and Conte’s men had the structure, togetherness and defensive capabilities to make it a challenging night for the world champions. This was never going to be a game when Italy played with adventure and, though Germany quickly settled into a newly configured 3-4-2-1 system, it was quickly apparent Löw’s players would have to be patient against such a tough, obdurate side.
Germany were clearly superior on the ball but the first half was relatively stress-free for their opponents apart from the moment when Bastian Schweinsteiger, having replaced the injured Sami Khedira, headed in a far-post cross, only for the goal to be disallowed because of his push on Mattia de Sciglio. Khedira had lasted only a quarter of an hour before suffering a groin strain, enabling Schweinsteiger to equal Miroslav Klose’s record of 37 appearances in major tournaments, but it was the correct decision and Löw must have been disappointed otherwise by his team’s inability to create more chances.
Italy must have felt a great sense of assurance from having three central defenders with the parsimonious nature of Giorgio Chiellini, Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli in front of Gianluigi Buffon. It suited them for Euro 2016 to have another slow, plodding game, full of tactical intrigue but low on drama. Their own success has traditionally been built on aficionados of defending and on the first occasion Germany did find a way behind their three centre-halves, 10 minutes into the second half, it took a brilliant, improvisational flick from Alessandro Florenzi, Italy’s right wing-back, to prevent Thomas Müller’s left-footed shot from opening the scoring. Buffon had been beaten and Florenzi was mid-air when he jutted out his leg to change the angle of the ball.
Unfortunately for Florenzi, it was his misjudgment after 65 minutes that led to Özil’s goal. Florenzi could not read the trajectory of Manuel Neuer’s long kick and, suddenly, Müller’s quick pass to Mario Gomez put Germany on the attack. Gomez drew two defenders then angled a lovely reverse pass between them to send Jonas Hector running into the left-hand side of the penalty area. Hector’s cross deflected off Bonucci and Özil was the first to the ball, running into the six-yard box to sweep his shot past Buffon.
Buffon’s reflexes spared Chiellini from an own goal in Germany’s next attack, with Gomez trying to backheel a bouncing ball goalwards, but Italy’s response to going behind showed their competitive courage.
Temporarily, Germany lost their composure, too, in the form of Boateng’s handball. Boateng had both his arms outstretched as he challenged Chiellini from Florenzi’s cross. It was another correct decision by the Hungarian referee and Bonucci slotted the penalty expertly into the bottom left-hand corner of Neuer’s goal.
That meant extra-time, a thrilling finish and the only disappointment for Germany will be that Hummels is suspended from Thursday’s semi-final against either France or Iceland in Marseille.
Guardian