Germany vs. Italy: Bold Predictions for Crucial Semifinal

You can rest assured that one of my bold predictions will not be an Italy uspet.

The Azzurri are talented, and they've done well to make it to the semifinals at Euro 2012, but they unfortunately now meet the roadblock known as Germany.

Led by, um, a bunch of different stars, the Germans have won all four matches by a combined score of 9-5.

It's not like they've had easy opponents, either. They throttled Netherlands, the 2010 World Cup runner-up; they stifled Portugal, the team that currently sits in the opposite semifinal; and they handled both Denmark and Greece with relative ease. 

The Germans are just too good and will continue to show that against Italy. Nonetheless, football is a peculiar game and anything can happen.

Let's take a look at what to expect on Thursday. 

Note: All stats come from whoscored.com

Man of the Match: Mesut Ozil

It doesn't really get much better than how Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Ozil has been playing during this tournament.

Sure, he's one of only a few attacking regular players who has yet to find the back of the net, but that's because he is taking over the reins from Bastian Schweinsteiger as the engine that makes Germany's attack go. 

OK, Schweinsteiger still has the role, but Ozil has been playing it just as well. 

During the four tournament games, Ozil has completed a ridiculous 4.5 key passes (first on Germany by far), 2.3 accurate crosses (again, easily first) and 0.8 accurate through balls per game. He's completed 233 of 256 passes, good for 91 percent.

Ozil isn't concerned with scoring, because he setting up his buddies at unfathomable rates. It's resulted in three assists, and he'll add at least two more to that tally against Italy as he earns man of the match. 

Marco Reus Scores Again

The talented 23-year-old got his first playing time of the tournament against Greece, and he didn't disappoint. 

In 80 minutes on the pitch, Reus was everywhere. He racked up an impressive six shots, which is third on the team despite that being his only match played.

He scored once and contributed two more key passes. 

If Reus gets another start, look for the youngster to continue to cause havoc on the defense, scoring at least once. 

Italy Scores a Late One, But it Doesn't Matter

With the way Andrea Pirlo has been playing, Italy is going to have plenty of chances. 

Pirlo has won Man of the Match in all three of Italy's victories, and it's not hard to see why. 

He's scored once, assisted twice, completed 3.5 key passes per game and completed 260 of 300 passes, which comes out to 87 percent. 

In addition to his ability to set up Mario Balotelli and Italy's talented strikers, Pirlo is a danger whenever the Azzurri get a free kick.

He scored his goal from a free kick just outside the box, and he's a threat to make something happen every time he lines up to take one. Don't be surprised if Italy, who is fifth in tournament in aerial duels won at 51 percent, gets a goal off a set piece.

Nonetheless, Germany will still control most of the game, and will come out on top, 3-1. 

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