Germany vs Italy - Quarter-final preview

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Germany

 The world champions took a while to start performing to their standard, but when the competition hit the knockout stage, they faced Slovakia – a team that beat them in May – the Germans didn’t flinch and applied their common demolition job, destroying Hamsik and co.’s hopes.

 It hasn’t the been the most glamourous of showings for Joachim Low’s team, with their performances lacking some punch in the group stage, mostly due to the insistence to have Mario Gotze in the striker role. When Low opted to go for Gómez everything started clicking better, and Germany seemed much more like their usual self, and they will need to step up, as they have the hard way to Paris side of the draw.

Italy

 They arrived in France very quietly, facing incredible disbelief and indifference from their own country, with statements like “Worst squad ever” being regularly heard, and with very little hopes of making truth to the name of Italy, especially facing a very tough group and starting against the young and powerful Belgium.
 If there’s something that the Chelsea fans will soon love about Antonio Conte is that he will take all the criticism with a smile and then keep on going with what he believes and, normally, with great results.
 Just look at their opening game in the Euro, against Belgium, where they were expected to have to hold off Wilmots’ team, and ended up dominating the match to gain control of the group. Destiny brought them the task of facing reigining champions Spain, and Italy showed us they are ready to try and go all the way, finishing once and for all the Spanish Era.  

The game

Germany has never won a match against Italy in a big competition. You might think “But that surely happens a lot, as teams don’t face off that often”, and while that’s true, this are two of the greatest Football nations, that always have been contenders, and have played 8 matches, with 4 Italy wins and 4 draws. Lotthar Matthaus admitted that one of the few Germany weaknesses comes when they see they have to face Italy.
 And what Italy they have to face. An Italy that doesn’t have the class of Baggio, Pirlo, Riva, Paolo Rossi, Maldini and many, many others, but what they have is their own BBC. Barzagli, Bonnuci and Chielini play together in Juventus in the back 3 that Conte brought with the Vecchia Signora and they give a tough time to the opponents’ offense. And if they can’t stop them, there’s always Buffon.
 This has all the possibilities of being one of the games of the tournament. Certainly one of the more decisive as one of the best contenders to the title will go home earlier. Low knows this is one of the biggest test he faces in his spell, and if he can break the curse against Italy, then Germany surely won’t stop until they grab the silverware. As for Conte’s squad, they wowed the world with the fantastic game they had against Spain, where they vulgarized Del Bosque and his team. With two very different styles, expect a high-quality, intense match. 

Wales vs Belgium - Quarter-final preview

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Wales

The dream is still alive for the United Kingdom to have representation in the final, but it has been Coleman’s Dragons that have been making the positive headlines, after England’s meltdown against the volcanic Iceland. Bale and his teammates have been brilliant so far in France, topping their group with two incredible wins against Slovakia and Russia, and being defeated in the end of the England’s match.

 This Wales team created a very solid team spirit that doesn’t allow egos, and the mega-star that is Gareth Bale has the same responsibilities as anybody else in terms of commitment and sacrifice for the team. They feel much more comfortable when they give away possession to their opponent and try to break on them, with long balls for the pace of the Real Madrid winger, Robson-Kanu or Ramsay. If they have to take control of the game, they are a bit out of their shape, as proven by the scrappy win against Nor. Ireland. But they got it, and can continue to make history if they can repeat the results they had against Belgium in qualification.

Belgium

 Belgium was seen as one possible dark horse for the competition, mostly due to the deth in quality that their squad has. It’s actually quite remarkable, when you look at the names that Wilmots has at his disposal, that they haven’t really went on to bigger things yet.

 It looked like this could another big disappointment to the Red Devils, with the loss and lack of chances created against Italy. A game that ensured the pressure was on Belgium for the rest of the group matches, pressure that brought out the best of the offensive threat that Hazard, De Bruyne, Mertens and Lukaku provide. Ireland and Sweden were dispatched, and in the last-16 they faced the highly motivated, but out of their area Hungary, that was dismantled when they were trying to get back into the match. It was a solid display, but with the scoreline not reflecting the game play, as Hungary had their chances.

The game

It has all the ingredients to be yet another upset in the Euros, the second quarter-final match. The surprising Wales face off with a Belgium team that, since they lost with Italy, has been very prolific in attack, but still seems a bit shaky in defense.

 Both teams know each other pretty well, as they were also opponents in qualification, and Wales had the upper hand in the H-2-H, being able to nullify the Belgium force, and capitalizing on their disorganized defensive line to win the game in Cardiff. Expect the game play to develop like in those two games, with Belgium trying to break Wales defense, and the Welsh unleashing quick counters with Bale and Robson-Kanu/Vokes as their pacey targets.

Belgium will have a very similar game to the one they had against Ireland, but this time their opponents are more organized in the back and have a world class player in the front. So, if you want to compare Wales with Italy, it wouldn’t be unthinkable. Certain is that Belgium is under pressure and anything but a win will be a massive failure and for Coleman’s squad being in the quarter-final is, surely, more than they ever dreamt. And they know they can beat Belgium, and will fight to get another piece of history in Lille. 

Poland vs Portugal - Quarter-Final preview

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Poland

 Lewandowski and Milik suffered heavy knocks in the epic battle against Switzerland, and they were considerably out of their best game in that game. While they were fit, Poland dominated their opponent, created chances, and could’ve scored more goals in a first half that showed us what Nawalka team can be. A force in the front, very hard to stop with their power and speed in the wings, provided by Grosicki and Blaszczykowski and that still hasn’t been fully awaken, as Lewandowski still hasn’t started his goal tally.
 To counter-balance the lack of offensive prowess, Nawalka was able to solidify the Polish’s defensive quality, a problem that had limited them in the pass. But with Krychowiak just ahead of the strong duo of Glik and Pazdan, it’s hard to beat them through the air and in pace.

 Poland has been one of the most solid teams in the tournament, as proven by the fact that it took a Shaqiri wonder goal to finally see the Poles concede in France, having shut down Germany in the group stage in a game they could’ve won. Their main focus in qualification was their attack though, and we’re yet to see all the sectors of team perform at the same time. The time is now.

Portugal

It wasn’t easy, rather a bumpy road, for Portugal to get to the quarter-final stage. Inserted in group F, widely renowned as the least star studded of the competition, Portugal had the chance, and some said the obligation, of coming out of the group strong and in first place.

 Fernando Santos had a problem and he tried to found a solution. The lack of quality strikers in his national pool, allied to the goal machine that Ronaldo can be, determined that former Greece manager opted for changing Portugal’s natural system from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2. But a very unorthodox system, where the two strikers are normally wingers by nature, they open up the defense with runs and behind and open space for the likes of João Mario or Renato Sanches to be the second line of danger.
 Santos’ changes go much deeper than the players he employs and how they organize on the pitch, though. What really needed a change, and it seems is coming, was the mentality and cold blood, necessary to survive a competition like this. Portugal was always a team that wanted the ball, wanted to create danger and make the crowd gasp in enthusiasm. A very liked team, with good players, that never won anything. But Santos is trying to change that. Forget being liked, forget attacking without criteria, just for the sake of it. Now Portugal doesn’t mind, even thrives, on giving the possession away and playing in a counter-attack style, that fits best the skills of Ronaldo, Nani or Quaresma.

 Their win against Croatia was a bit overshadowed by the lack of chances, but it was pretty clear that the Croats didn’t create anything because of the web in the midfield that Santos arranged to stop Modric and Rakitic. Adrien Silva was absolutely essential in that, with William also gaining his spot.

The game

Both teams arrive in Marseille coming off very hard fought wins, but can take away the positive of their opponent being the other team that played an extra-time and won, meaning there’s no team more tired than the other.
 It’s an historic opportunity for both this countries, not only to get to a semi-final, a place there are not that used to, but with their side of the draw being accessible, you’d feel both Poland and Portugal are strong enough to get to Paris and play the final.
 But for that to happen, one of them will go out today. The pace of the match will be decided by Nawalka’s strategy in the beginning, because it’s expected that Fernando Santos will bet on the same team that engulfed Croatia in their web, didn’t allow their stars to shine, and got a very scrappy win. Poland on the other hand, ended the game defending, something they don’t like, and with Lewandowski and Milik both suffering from knocks, it’s hard to say how fit they are for this match.

 If the striking force that Nawalka has in his hand is back on form, then Poland will probably take the steer of the game, try to dominate while Portugal sits back and counters with their quickness and wit, with Ronaldo needing to show a bit more of himself. Adrien Silva was a great part of the win in the last-16 and he will have the mission to block the Polish creativity, mainly Krychowiak.

Both defenses have been very solid, and both attacks less prolific than they should, but still enough to be in this stage, and for one of them, enough to get to the semis. It’s unlikely that the managers will change much of their teams, so expect a game where teams will be afraid to concede first, will be mostly playing safe. It will be required that the stars of both sides step up their game, and it feels like Portugal has been a bit better on that particular item. And with that in mind, we feel that Portugal is the slight favorite, but Poland will dominate possession. There will be few goals in this match, especially if there’s no early goal to open play up, and Portugal's bigger experience can be a decisive factor. Poland needs their goalscoring machine back, or their chances will be tarnished.