England vs. Italy: Three Lions Must Be Careful Not to Look Past Italians

A big matchup is looming for England in the semifinals against heavily favored and awesome Germany, but Wayne Rooney and co. would be wise not to look beyond their quarterfinal match.

Italy is a beatable opponent for England, but the Italians will be inspired by their underdog status and spurred on by their solid defense.

Italy has won only one match, but they have advanced to this stage based on two draws. England has been a bit shaky, but they played the early part of the tournament without Rooney. He was suspended for the first two matches, but he returned and scored his team's only goal against Ukraine.

Even with their best player back, England did not play their best game. They are still working out some on-field chemistry issues. They need a strong performance from Theo Walcott. It would appear that he should be fully recovered from his hamstring injury, this per Dominic Fifield of the Guardian. 

England needs Walcott starting and aggressive. It could be key to adding a much-needed weapon against Italy, and ultimately against Germany.

Thus far, England has put a ton of pressure on goalkeeper Joe Hart. He has been up to the challenge, but Italy is a strong defensive team, and they have a strong goalkeeper as well.

Gigi Buffon is one of the best keepers in the tournament and in the world. Italy has only conceded two goals throughout the tournament. Only Spain has allowed fewer; the Spaniards have allowed only one tally against them.

So while the Azzurri doesn't boast the most dynamic attack, they simply smother their opponents. With England struggling to score of late, if they aren't careful, this could be a pitfall match.

England is the more talented team here, but it will take great discipline and patience to knock off the Italians. I predict they will win this match 1-0 to advance to play Germany in the semifinals.

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