National soccer team: Classic knockout duel: Italy a “great opponent”

Julian Nagelsmann first put on a poker face, chewed his chewing gum for a moment, but then a slight smile flickered at the corners of his mouth. Italy. This opponent for the quarter-finals in the Nations League naturally also triggers special feelings for the national coach. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s a great opponent who is now slowly finding its old strength,” said Nagelsmann in his first reaction in a UEFA interview immediately after the drawing ceremony in Nyon.

The national soccer team will compete in the first knockout round on March 20th in Italy, then on March 23rd there will be the second leg for a place in the final round. The DFB has not yet named a venue for the home game. The draw has increased the chances that the final tournament will take place from June 4th to 8th in Germany and then probably in Munich and Stuttgart.

The reason: The DFB and the Italian association are considered the most promising candidates for the contract. With the other opponent options, Denmark and especially Croatia, the starting position for winning the tournament would have been worse. Since Germany and Italy are now playing against each other, UEFA could, as hoped, decide very quickly that the winner of this quarter-final will become the host of the final tournament.

Of course, for a mini-tournament a year after the home European Championship, the national team still has to survive against Italy. Nagelsmann predicted a “duel on equal terms”. “Like us, they are not yet at the end of their journey. They play offensive, attractive football,” the 37-year-old praised his opponents.

In any case, Nagelsmann will be spared another cracker until a possible finale. Spain, which plays against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, can only face the DFB team in the final at the earliest. In the semi-finals, the German opponent would be the winner of the quarter-finals between Portugal around superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Denmark.

Against Spain in the final at the earliest

A possible revenge for the European Championship exit this summer against Spain would certainly be Nagelsmann’s dream scenario for the final and the crowning achievement of by far the best performance in the Nations League to date.

Germany confidently qualified for the quarter-finals as group winners with four wins and two draws. Italy finished second in their group behind France. The most recent record against Squadra Azzura is quite positive. The former feared opponent was beaten 5-2 in the group phase of the 2022 Nations League – Hansi Flick’s last big victory as national coach.

The last tournament game against Italy was the dramatic 6:5 on penalties in the 2016 European Championship quarter-finals in Bordeaux. Of course, there had previously been many painful defeats, such as the 1:2 in the 2012 European Championship semi-final or especially the 0:2 after extra time in the semi-final of the 2006 home World Cup.