Italy vs. Germany: Score and Recap

With both sides all wrapped up in the warm embrace of World Cup qualification, tonight's glamour friendly between Italy and Germany was always going to be nothing more than a simple sparring contest. 

As expected, Italy began the game with the line-up of players which had been predicted a week before, with Mario Balotelli and Southampton's Dani Osvaldo leading the line for the Azzurri, while Germany sprung a few surprises as coach Joachim Low decided to start captain Philipp Lahm in the centre of midfield, where he has recently played for Bayern Munich under new coach Pep Guardiola.

Although Italy did well to initially make things very uncomfortable for Germany in the opening minutes of the game, with a Balotelli shot and a free kick from Andrea Pirlo, it was none other than shunned Dortmund defender Mats Hummels who opened the scoring early on with a headed goal from Germany's first corner. From there on in, it was Germany's game to build upon.

Yet despite a few halfhearted attacks from Germany, with the most welcome one coming from a long-range shot from Sami Khedira that hit off Buffon's right-hand post, it was Italy who then punched back with a wonderful move from Ignazio Abate. 

The full-back made an impressive effort of closing down Marcell Jansen within the German half, and upon intercepting the ball strung up a delightful one-two with Pablo Osvaldo and calmly slotted home for the Italian equaliser. 

Both goals had came from wonderful individual moves, which was perhaps rather appropriate considering the nature of the game. For all the sparring between the six midfielders on either side, Italy and Germany were indeed matching each other man-for-man and deserved to be level with each other.

The second half also struggled to define itself in the early stages, as both sides made quick changes before the final half-hour mark, with Germany pushing for a win with the introduction of Marco Reus and Mesut Ozil at Andre Schurrle's and Mario Gotze's expense. 

Yet with such German talent on the pitch, it was the Italians who looked more composed, and as Lahm and company marched up and down the pitch with an air of frustration, it was the light-footed Azzurri who made the easy passes with little trouble. 

It was perhaps Gotze's pedestrian role up front that defined the difference between the two sides, when we compare him to the Italy's Mario Balotelli. For all Gotze's finesse and skill, it was Balotelli's brute strength and instinctive hunger for goal that offered more to his side and ultimately made things a lot easier for Italy as they continued to move forward. 

Yet the game unfortunately fizzled out to nothing in the end, as both sides continued pushing forward but were still relatively careful not to give up a late goal. In the end, a draw was perfectly reasonable between these two Goliaths of the European game. 

Post-Match Reaction

Italy 

He wasn't technically the best player for Italy tonight, for reasons that will become apparent at the bottom of this article, but Ignazio Abate was simply solid at right-back for his national team in this match. Add to that an outstanding goal, and you have a complete performance that any player would be happy with. 

The villain of this Italian side tonight was the unfortunate performance from Pablo Osvaldo, as he once again drifted through a match that looked custom made for his style of football.

Germany 

The main man for Germany was undoubtedly Mats Hummels. The Dortmund defender is a class act when he's on form, and along with the goal, he got the job done in terms of keeping Mario Balotelli from his own goal for much of the game. 

Ironically, it was the ex-Dortmund player Mario Gotze at the other end of the pitch who truly disappointed for Germany, as he failed abysmally in the solitary striker role. Germany struggled at times to take their chances, which was undoubtedly due to their lack of a proper striker.  

Man of the Match: Andrea Pirlo 

In a match that saw so much incompetence and lack of composure between the two sides, it was a sheer pleasure watching the Juventus midfielder drift through the match with purpose and skill in equal measures. He may be getting on, and a starting spot for Italy may not be as cemented down as it used to be, but tonight he was fantastic and the best player on the pitch.