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And now, for Italy's next trick, the Azzurri will actually try and send Sami Khedira to Mallorca and/or Egypt to run the pyramids.
Okay, so maybe Brother Sami has some different vacation plans whenever the Euros are over with, but that's beside the point here. Italy vs. Germany is a meeting of two of the most historic footballing nations the world has. Most people aren't surprised to see Germany at this stage in the game. The same can't really be said for Antonio Conte and Italy.
But, guess what?
With Conte's lead, Italy is doing this the Italian way. They don't have the overall talent of past Italy squads, but they're playing this like a classic Italian team. It's helped them beat Belgium in the group stage. It helped helped them dispose of the defending European champion in Spain, a side that crushed Italy 4-0 in the 2012 final. And, if Conte wants to postpone his arrival in London just a little while longer, then Italy will have to have yet another trademark performance once again.
It's pretty simple, really.
We know Germany has the better overall talent. But Italy has proven that they can overcome playing the more talented team more than once in this tournament already. And when you've got these guys on your team, you're always going to at least have some kind of shot of winning, right? I mean, it only makes sense if that's the case.
Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci & Giorgio Chiellini = Italy's 'BBC'. #GERITA #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/B89fl6uIHm
— UEFA EURO 2016 (@UEFAEURO) July 2, 2016
Pretty sure those guys are going to play a big role in a potential Italy win.
Italy vs. Germany
Location: Nouveau Stade Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
Kick-off time: 21:00 CET, 3:00 PM Eastern, 12:00 PM Pacific
Available TV: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes (United States); TSN3, TSN4, TSN1, RDS, TLN, TSN5 (Canada); BBC One UK (United Kingdom); RAI Uno, Sky Supercalcio HD, RSI La 2, Sky Sport 1 HD Italia (Italy)
Available online streaming: ESPN3/WatchESPN (United States); BBC iPlayer (United Kingdom); SKY Go Italia (Italy)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.