Just like a final

In Summary

EURO 2016: Super heavyweights Germany and Italy meet tonight in a clash of in-form favourites that could easily have been the crowning moment and yet dangerous hosts France still lie in wait, if they, too, can overcome giant-killers Iceland.

Paris. Germany face familiar foes Italy for their Euro 2016 quarter final clash at the Stade Matmut-Atlantique in Bordeaux tonight.
Germany had an easy route to the quarter finals so far and are yet to concede a goal in the tournament. They had one off-day against Poland in the second group match. Other than that they looked dominant in all matches. And they looked like a more organised and settled team in the 3-0 win against Slovakia in the round of 16. But there might be slight worries at the rate at which this team is converting scoring chances. Thomas Muller, who topped the scoring charts for Germany in the last two world cups is yet to score a goal.

Italy outfoxed Spain in their round of 16 clash and earned a 2-0 victory to book their place in the quarter finals. Their performance against Spain on Monday is arguably the best in this edition of the tournament so far. Antonio Conte seems to have got every decision right as Italy ended their barren run against Spain in major tournaments. The Azzuri, who qualified to the knockouts as Group E winner, feel to an unexpected defeat against Ireland in their final group game. Other than this they looked solid in rest of the matches.

France vs. Iceland
Polar opposites here. The uber-talented host nation against the guys many expected to be nothing more than the answer to a trivia question. Iceland’s performances have been otherworldly thus far. If you don’t believe they’re channeling some kind mystic Viking spirit, you’d have to assume that all that running and exertion will catch up with them sooner rather than later. (Then again, that may be what England thought as well and we saw how that turned out.)

Les Bleus will be without the suspended Adil Rami, which might not seem like a huge loss until you realize Eliaquim Mangala could be the man to replace him. Defence is not the French strong suit, though it has arguably performed better than their attack, where Olivier Giroud has fired too many blanks, and midfield, where Didier Deschamps’ incessant tinkering is doing him no favours.
Could the host nation stumble against Iceland? Probably not. There are too many weapons in the French arsenal, from Dimitri Payet to Antoine Griezmann to Paul Pogba, and, as they showed against Ireland, they’re resilient too.
Payet and Griezmann have risen to the occasion with crucial goals.