Germany made it to the last four of a major tournament for the sixth consecutive time as they defeated Italy 1-1 ( 6-5 on penalties) in the quarter-final of the UEFA Euro 2016 in Bordeaux.
After Mesut Ozil’s opener was cancelled out by Leonardo Bonucci’s penalty in regulation time, the tie went into a penalty shootout. Germany saw Thomas Muller, Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger miss their respective spot-kicks, while Italy’s Simone Zaza, Graziano Pelle and Bonucci failed to find the back of the net with their kicks during the compulsory shootout.
After Matteo Darmian’s soft penalty was saved by Manuel Neuer in sudden death, Jonas Hector converted his to seal Germany’s path into the semi-final where they will face either hosts France or surprise package Iceland.
Here are the player ratings from a game of two equals at the Noveau Stade de Bordeaux:-
Germany
Manuel Neuer – 8
His distribution was brilliant despite the Italians closing down on his defenders while the ball was in his possession. He made 2 saves in the shootout to help his side advance to the semis.
Benedikt Howedes – 7.5
He may have been identified as the weak link of the defensive trio by the Italians. Nevertheless, he stayed strong and never allowed Emanuele Giaccherini to dispossess him despite all the pressure he exerted.
Mats Hummels – 7
Playing on the left side of a 3-man defence, Hummels had yet another assured performance. He kept a dangerous-looking Florenzi in check. Going forward, he provided quality long passes to give the Italian defence a headache or two. He gets slightly lower ratings for his booking which rules him out of the semi-final.
Jerome Boateng – 7.5
He was unbeatable at the back. His ability to read a pass and sense any looming danger was critical to ensure Germany were relatively comfortable at the back. He gets struck down for his moment of madness which led to the penalty and subsequently, Italy’s equaliser.
Hector – 7
He was well closed down by Florenzi throughout the game. He gets the extra ratings for his assist for Germany’s opener. Apart from that, he was not afforded the space to wrap his foot around a dangerous cross.
Joshua Kimmich – 6.5
The young wingback was lively throughout the game, attempting to make those surging approaches into the box with his pace. However, he was kept at bay by both Chiellini and De Sciglio.
Sami Khedira – N/A
He had to come off after just 15 minutes due to a foot injury caused by Chiellini's momentum while making a fair challenge.
Toni Kroos – 6.5
His corners were very poor, barely any of them going past the first man. His passing was, however, pretty accurate and he moved the ball across the pitch with a lot of confidence.
Mesut Ozil – 8
He was quiet in the first half, when he looked relatively wasted on the wing. He was more threatening in the second half in a central role, making the Italian defence busy in dealing with his dangerous through balls or lofted passes. He scored Germany’s goal following some excellent work by Mario Gomez.
Thomas Muller – 6
The 26-year old was barely involved in the action until the 41st minute, when he fluffed a potential chance, only managing a tame effort towards Buffon after a fabulous move from the left. He was denied yet again by Barzagli’s foot early in the second half. It was a frustrating night in total for Muller, who is yet to find the back of the net this Euros.
Mario Gomez – 7.5
The forward had a good opportunity in the first half, breaking away from Chiellini to meet a long ball from Hummels. However, he was unable to get the required contact.
His contribution to his side’s goal was immense; holding up play on the left wing before spotting Hector’s run towards the byline to provide the perfect reverse pass. He had a glorious opportunity to double the lead soon after, but saw his backheel flick wonderfully kept out by the fingertips of Buffon. Germany lost a focal point in attack once he was substituted off for Draxler on 72 minutes.
Substitutes
Bastian Schweinsteiger – 6.5
After a slightly cagey first half, Schweinsteiger controlled play in midfield in the second half and in extra time. He fed the wingers on either side – especially Joshua Kimmich - with some good passing. He loses some rating points for his horrible penalty which was blazed into orbit.
Julian Draxler - 6
Draxler was nowhere near his dazzling self against the Slovakians. He was reduced to a passenger of sorts for the 50-odd minutes he was on the pitch. He could not thread his way through a non-compromising Italian defence and missed a great chance in extra-time.
Italy
Gianluigi Buffon – 7.5
He made a brilliant reflex-action save from Mario Gomez’s backheel flick to keep Italy in the game at 1-0 down. Apart from that, he had to make only a couple of routine saves. He made one save in the shootout – denying Thomas Muller.
Andrea Barzagli – 7.5
As usual, Barzagli was exquisite, easily dealing with anything the Germans had to offer in the form of crosses, low or lofted.
Leonardo Bonucci – 7.5
He didn’t flinch the entire game from his defensive position, frustrating Thomas Muller and Mario Gomez with a series of assured clearances and tackles. He showed great composure to convert Italy’s penalty and take the tie into extra time. He couldn’t repeat his heroics in the shoot-out though.
Giorgio Chiellini – 7.5
Like his Juventus teammates, Chiellini was also a robust presence at the back, not allowing anything to get the better of him. He kept wingback Joshua Kimmich in check for the entire 120 minutes. He created a good chance late in the first half, spotting Giaccherini’s run into space in the opposition defence to find him and force the Germans to quell the danger.
Alessandro Florenzi – 6.5
Florenzi looked threatening every time he made his way up the pitch, but saw each of his crosses from the right flank comfortably dealt with by the Germans.
Mattia de Sciglio – 7
He was a busy figure on the left wing, playing good one-twos with the midfielders and making futile attempts to find Giaccherini with a defence cutting pass. However, he was also left frustrated by a stubborn German defence. He made a good contribution at the back, helping his centre-backs with some good clearances.
Stefano Sturaro - 7
In the absence of Daniele de Rossi, Sturaro deputised pretty well in midfield. He made important tackles to win possession back from the Germans and was lively in attack too. His fierce shot late in the first half went narrowly wide thanks to Boateng’s intervention.
Marco Parolo – 7.5
He was excellent in front of the defensive trio, making tackles and interceptions aplenty to foil Germany’s attacking pursuits. He was unlucky to get booked for his only foul in the game.
Emanuele Giaccherini – 6.5
The Sunderland midfielder did extremely well to run into space in the German defence to meet a lofted pass from Chiellini and provide the low cross for Sturaro, who shot just wide.
Overall, he showed pockets of energy on the left side of midfield and was constantly breathing down Howedes’ neck in an attempt to nick the ball off him. However, he couldn’t find the space to get into the box and test Manuel Neuer.
Graziano Pelle – 5.5
He was well shut out by a resilient German defence and barely got a foot inside the opposition box. He seemed to make more fouls than shots at goal and his horrible night culminated with his dreadful spot-kick.
Eder – 5
Like Pelle, Eder too was starved of the ball against the Germans and failed to even register a shot on goal.
Substitutes
Matteo Darmian – 5.5
He replaced Alessandro Florenzi after 86 minutes at right wingback. He managed to advance up the pitch on a couple of instances, but without the required effect. His tame penalty was saved by Manuel Neuer and sealed Italy’s fate.
Lorenzo Insigne – 6.5
He looked adventurous against a leggy German defence for the 12 minutes he was on the pitch. He even managed to get a shot away, but it was straight at Manuel Neuer.
Simone Zaza – N/A
He barely touched the ball after coming on in the 121st minute. His ridiculous-looking run-up to take his penalty (which he horribly scuffed) doesn’t warrant a rating.
