Italy vs Germany Preview

International football returns this week with Italy hosting Germany in the Nations League, League A playoffs.

The Nations League’s expansion to include quarter-finals has given Italy a chance at glory after they could only finish second in Group 2 behind France (W4, D1, L1). The Azzurri are unseeded for this clash with fellow big hitters Germany so will host the first leg at the iconic San Siro as Luciano Spaletti’s side chase a third successive progression into the finals of this competition.

However, doing that will require that they arrest an alarming run of H2H form that’s seen them fail to win any of the six meetings since Euro 2012 (D3, L3), with that run including two matches in the previous Nations League cycle (D1, L1). The good thing in that sequence though is that Italy have at least avoided defeat each time they have hosted Germany but a 3-1 loss to France on this ground in November indicates they certainly aren’t unbeatable at home.

Meanwhile, Germany will look to continue their impressive run of form under Julian Nagelsmann when they face Italy on Thursday. The visitors are gathering pace under the former Bayern Munich coach, with their only loss since the start of 2024 coming in last summer’s Euros against eventual winners Spain (W10, D4).

They sailed through Group 3 to progress beyond the group stage of this competition for the first time (W4, D2). That run included eye-catching wins over Bosnia & Herzegovina (7-0) and Hungary (5-0).

Nagelsmann will hope to leverage that confidence here to become the first Germany manager to oversee an away win over Italy since Franz Beckenbauer in 1986. But injuries to key players including Florian Wirtz could affect their chances here.