Before the start of Euro 2016 not many Italians had faith in the disciples of Antonio Conte. Lots of people did not agree with the players he selected for the team, and considering the group in which Italy had to play their group stage matches in Euro 2016 many people believed that they would not even qualify for the knockout stage.
But, the first match of the tournament changed everything as they played impressive football and won 2-0 against Belgium in their opening match. After beating Sweden in their second match they were already group winners and nothing was at stake at all before their last group stage match against Ireland, which they lost.
But, when all groups had played all their matches the Italians soon realized that the future for the Italian team would be very tough, too tough. In their round of 16 match Italy had to play against the former champions Spain. That is a match few people believed they would actually win, but if they did, then their upcoming opponent would be Germany. And if they should play super football again and beat Germany then France would probably be their next opponent in the semi-final. So, few Italians believed in their team before Euro 2016, and even fewer believed in the Italian team as they saw their possibilities as the knockout stage schedule was shaped.
Most Italians would however agree that there is an easier way to the Euro 2016 final, and that is if Iceland would continue in the same way as they played against England in their round of 16 match. If that is so, then the semi-final opponent of Italy would not be France but Iceland instead.
But, in their first knockout stage match against Spain they were by far the best team on the field and won 2-0 against the former champions. Now Germany is waiting in the next match and the people of Rome and the people of the rest of Italy now raise their expectations to the Italian team. But, they do not dare to believe to much in their team still, after all they will play their next match against Germany, the biggest favorite to win the entire tournament.
We will cheer for Italy and hope that they will continue in the spirit from their matches against Belgium and Spain. If they do not even Germany will be able to stop them. If you want to watch the match between Germany and Italy online, read the following article on ipaddressguide.org or the following article in Italian.
