An even first half with both teams enjoying periods of dominence. Borowski has kept Zambrotta pinned back and Camoranesi doing the same to Lahm.
Grosso on Italy's left side has seen the greatest success getting forward. Without width both sides are playing a lot of "north-south" balls which makes life difficult for the strikers.
Lehmann has been the busiest of the goalkeepers.
Ballack is playing further forward to squeeze Pirlo. It's largely worked but it hasn't allowed Ballack much space to work in.
Corners and free kicks have been poorly executed so far. Both sides have looked most likely to score after forcing turnovers.
I thought Pirlo put in a great ball eerily similar to the goal against the USA and somehow it bounced inside the 6 ... maybe he should take the corners going forward
Kudos to Italy for making this a pulsating match and Germany too ... look for Lippi to make the moves that wins it with DelPiero and others taking their chances ...
I suspect if there is a goal coming, it will come from a defensive breakdown on set-piece coverage. Italy has been doing a masterful job of keeping the midfield compact.
Looks like Odonker and Schweinsteiger are coming on.
German tactics seem to be failing. I get the impression that they are waiting for the Italians to make a mistake. They seem more interested in the referee making the play than creating their own.
Italy needs to strike, and keep on striking to avoid the mistake that Argentina made. If this goes to penalities, Italian's need to aim opposite of the side they are most accustomed to shooting, to throw off the goal keeper and his stats.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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