Predicting Germany's Starting Lineup Against Italy in the Euro 2012 Semifinals

After each of the four interesting quarterfinals in the books, we now have some very good match-ups to look at in the semifinals.

In the first quarterfinal between Portugal and Czech Republic, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal late in the match to push his team into the semis with a 1-0 win.

Portugal will play Spain in one of the semifinal matches as the Spaniards defeated the French 2-0 with a double by Xabi Alonso in the third quarterfinal.

The second quarterfinal featured Germany and Greece. This match was filled with goals from both sides as the Germans beat the Greeks 4-2.

They will play Italy, who beat England 4-2 on penalties in an excruciating penalty shootout. 

However, I will be focusing on Germany here. In their match against Greece, the Germans altered their lineup slightly. Instead of Lukas Podolski, André Schürrle played at the left wing. Instead of Tomas Müller, Marco Reus played at the right wing. And instead of Mario Gomez, Miroslav Klose played at striker.

This was an interesting change, and it happened to work for the Germans. Now the question is, will Joachim Loew keep this same lineup or will he resort back to his original lineup?

So with that in mind, here is my prediction for Germany's starting lineup against Italy in the semifinals Thursday.

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer

Manuel Neuer is the obvious option for the goalkeeping position; he's the best German keeper right now, so there isn't any doubt that Neuer shouldn't play in the semifinals.

So far, he has had a good Euro campaign, and I'm sure that he will continue to play well in the following matches for Germany.

Right-Back: Jérôme Boateng

Jérôme Boateng has been effective on offense and defense. He has been able to come forward on the attack and play in some nice crosses that cause problems for the opposing defense. 

On defense, Boateng has managed to stop the attacks of the adversary's offense with some solid tackles. He has managed to keep up with some of the agile wingers in this competition.

Boateng is another choice that is fairly obvious for the starting lineup.

Center-Back: Mats Hummels

Mats Hummels has played great football in the Euros so far. He has been an excellent defender and has had a few attacking runs that have been quite dangerous and problematic for the opponents. 

Hummels is one of the many players that will keep their spot in the starting lineup.

Center-Back: Holger Badstuber

Holger Badstuber has been another key part of Germany's defense, using his size and strength to overpower attackers.

He has also been a threat on set pieces; his height has been extremely helpful for the Germans so far.

There shouldn't be a reason for Badstuber's absence in the starting lineup.

Left-Back: Philipp Lahm

There isn't much to write about Philipp Lahm. He is the German captain and has been extremely influential on the pitch. He even scored a goal from a shot from outside the box against Greece.

Philipp Lahm will start against Italy.

Defensive Midfielder: Sami Khedira

Sami Khedira has had a great tournament, and the fact that he scored in the last match against Greece supports the idea that Khedira has to start in the semifinal.

He is quite a versatile player. He can join the attack and produce just the way he did in the Greece match, but he is also a solid defender and can use his strength to get possession of the ball from other players.

Khedira needs to continue his momentum into the semis.

Defensive Midfielder: Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger has been forming a comfortable niche in the midfield over the course of this tournament. He has been making some huge passes in matches that have come up big. 

In Germany's 2-1 victory over the Netherlands, Schweinsteiger assisted both of Mario Gomez's goals.

While Schweinsteiger doesn't have possession of the ball, he is making some great runs to find himself with the ball again with the closest defender close to 10 yards away from him.

The midfielder has been playing great so far, and he will continue his great performances in the semifinal match against Italy, and the final match if the Germans make it.

Right Wing: Marco Reus

This was a rather tough decision as I was picking between Marco Reus and Tomas Müller.

Müller has played well in the group stages of the Euros. But he was given a break in the quarterfinal match against Greece, and it was in this match that Reus played quite well and scored one of the four goals in the two-goal victory.

I think that the goal he scored is a confidence booster, and his confidence will get boosted if he starts against Italy. 

If Reus starts, I feel that his performance will be a great one, and it will be one where Reus gives it everything he has.

I think Joachim Loew should give him a chance in this match. I predict that he will, as a result of his good performance against Greece.

Left Wing: Lukas Podolski

With Marco Reus occupying the right wing position, Lukas Podolski would be the most effective player to take up the left wing position. 

He has had a good tournament, marking his 100th cap with a goal during this tournament so far. 

Players such as André Schürrle or Tomas Müller could also play this position, but I predict that Lukas Podolski would do better in this position. 

Picking Podolski over Schürrle would be a tough decision as Schürrle played well in the Greece match, but with Podolski's experience, he would be the more ideal player to start.

Center Attacking Midfielder: Mesut Özil

Mesut Özil might be the best player of the tournament so far. His influence on the pitch is quite palpable when watching Germany play. He has a certain level of swagger about him that makes him intimidating as a player.

This is an easy decision for Joachim Loew as Özil is the key to Germany's attack.

Striker: Mario Gomez

Mario Gomez has had a great Euro 2012, having scored three goals.

However, in the quarterfinal match against Greece, he was given a break and Miroslav Klose played as striker instead. He had a good performance, scoring one of Germany's four goals in the 4-2 victory.

Both of these strikers have played well so far, but I think that Mario Gomez should start so that he can get some quick offense going for the Germans and score at least one goal. Than sometime in the second half, Klose should be brought on.

Gomez has just seemed like the bigger danger compared to Klose and that's why he should start instead.

Conclusion

With this starting squad, can Germany produce against Italy the way they have in their past matches?

Which players will have big impacts on the match? Will Mario Gomez continue his prolific goal-scoring form? Can Marco Reus prove that he was the right pick to start? 

All of these questions will come into account in this semifinal match as a single mistake could lead to a defeat for the Germans.

Germany has many talented players, but they must be assembled in the right way to produce a good result.

With that in mind, this is the starting lineup that I predict Joachim Loew will use in the Euro 2012 semifinal match against Italy Thursday.