Germany defeated Italy in a penalty shootout to reach the semi-finals of EURO 2016 with the game having ended 1-1 after extra time.
Joachim Loew switched to three at the back, mirroring Italy's formation, with Benedikt Howedes replacing Julian Draxler in the starting line-up, slotting in alongside Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels. Joshua Kimmich and Jonas Hector played as wing-backs while Thomas Mueller joined Mario Gomez up front. The midfield trio of Ozil, Kroos and Khedira maintained their respective roles.
Daniele De Rossi's injury and Thiago Motta's suspension meant Antonio Conte was without a second specialist defensive midfielder. The slightly more attack-minded Stefano Sturaro came in to play alongside Marco Parolo and Emmanuele Giaccherini in midfield. The rest of the team remained similar to the one that started the quarter-final against Spain.
With both teams playing in more or less the same shape, they were negating each other. Germany had better quality on the ball though with Ozil and Kroos pulling the strings in midfield. Kimmich and Hector provided good width going forward without shirking their defensive responsibilities.
The absence of a second defensive midfielder saw Giaccherini limit his attacking ventures and play closer to Sturaro and Parolo in the heart of midfield. Even the Italian wing-backs Florenzi and Di Sciglio were not as swashbuckling as they had been earlier in the tournament.
Germany's goal came as a result of some good hold-up play and an even better defence splitting pass by Mario Gomez to Hector, who ran towards the byline and cut it back for Ozil after his late run from midfield (see picture) .
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