Germany will look to bounce back from the defeat to England when they host Italy in an international friendly at the Allianz Arena in Munich Tuesday. Both teams will look at this game as another opportunity to tune up for Euro 2016.
The world champions were sloppy in their defeat to England, conceding three straight goals after going 2-0 up, thanks to strikes from Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez. England fought back gallantly in the final 30 minutes of the match, with the English Premier League's in-form strikers Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane making it 2-2.
When the match looked like ending all square, Eric Dier popped up in stoppage time to give England the 3-2 victory.
While results don't really matter too much in these friendlies, what will worry the Germany manager Joachim Low a little is the performance. It feels like Germany are still carrying a hangover from the 2014 World Cup victory, and motivating them to perform to their highest levels for Euro 2016 will be Low's biggest challenge.
"We have the same discussion every year," Germany midfielder Sami Khedira, who plies his trade in Italy, was quoted as saying by DFB's official website when asked about being motivated for friendlies. "We want to win these two matches, and had we won against England then we wouldn't be having this discussion.
"We played well for 45-60 minutes, but ultimately we fell short. We are determined to win against Italy. We also intend to put in a top performance, and there are plenty of players who still want to prove themselves."
How up they are for the friendly against Italy will be known when the two teams take the field at the Allianz Arena. "Italy will be a very special game. Germany against Italy are always big games."
While Low, who will be without Manuel Neuer for this friendly after the Bayern Munich goalkeeper pulled out with a stomach problem, is expected to put in a reasonably strong team out, Italy manager Antonio Conte will use this friendly to test the youngsters in the squad.
"There are young players who have no experience in our squad," Conte, whose Italy team drew 1-1 with Spain last week, was quoted by Forza Italian Football. "It will be important to test them and see what kind of response we get.
"We must also get confirmation from those who played well against Spain, because the Euros squad must be named in a month and a half."
Where to Watch Live
Germany vs Italy is scheduled for an 8.45 pm CET (12.15 am IST, 7.45 pm BST, 2.45 pm ET) start. Live TV coverage of the match in India will be on Sony ESPN, while the live streaming option to watch the international friendly online is on SonyLiv.
BT Sport Europe and Watch BT Sport are the places to be to watch Germany vs Italy live in the UK. ESPN2 will broadcast the game live in the US, while the action can also be live streamed on Watch ESPN.
Viewers in Germany can watch the friendly live on B5, ARD and NDR, while audience in Italy can watch the match live on Rai Uno.
Audience in the Middle East and North Africa can watch Germany vs Italy live on Bein Sports Arabia, with the live stream option on Bein Sports Connect.
