Germany vs Italy: 5 Key Statistics

Germany and Italy meet in the standout tie of the Quarter-Finals of Euro 2016 as the two powerhouses have their sights fixed on making the final in Paris on July 10th.

Here are five key facts regarding the two nations ahead of their clash.

Germany has never beaten Italy in eight previous tournament meetings, including three semi-finals, most recently at Euro 2012 where the Italians prevailed 2-1 winners thanks to Mario Balotelli netting two goals. Antonio Conte will look to take advantage of this record, using it to pump his players up for the game and the prize of a place in the semi-finals of the Euros on the line.

Joachim Low’s side did claim a 4-1 friendly victory against the Italians in Munich earlier this year, with strikes from Toni Kroos, Mario Gotze, Jonas Hector and Mesut Ozil and Stephane El Shaarawy scoring for the Italy. That was Germany’s first victory over the Azzurri since 1995 when the Germans ran out 2-0 winners in a friendly.

The two European heavyweights share eight World Cups and four European Championships between them, with Germany most recently winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina 1-0 in the final and Italy’s last major tournament success coming 10 years ago at the 2006 FIFA World Cup beating France on penalties in the final.

These two nations have both played four matches at Euro 2016 with Germany keeping four clean sheets and Italy only conceding one goal in their final group match against Ireland. A tight encounter will be expected, with the likes of Jerome Boateng and Giorgio Chiellini impressing for their stubborn defending throughout the group stages and knockout round.

With both sides possessing such tight defences there’s every chance of the game being decided on penalties. Germany and Italy have contrasting penalty shootout records at major tournaments.

At the European Championships, the Azzurri have won two out of four penalty shootouts, their last success coming at Euro 2012 when they knocked out England 4-2 on penalties.

Germany have a similar record at the Euro’s winning one out of two shootouts, but it’s at World Cup tournaments, where Joachim Low’s side hold the advantage, having a 100% record, claiming victory in four out of four penalty shootouts. However, the Italians have claimed victory in just one out of four shootouts at World Cups.