Germany Vs Italy, The Human Side of Two World Champions

DORTMUND, MONDAY – Winning four World Cup titles does not always grant Germany and Italy the image of giants. In the second meeting of the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals, which ended in a 3-3 draw, Germany and Italy, like any human, both made foolish mistakes. Italy was eliminated after losing 4-5 on aggregate.

For this instance alone, the public might question the reputations of Germany and Italy. These two football giants have demonstrated that they are no different from humans who can make very fundamental, even fatal, mistakes. These errors are represented by Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and Germany's captain Joshua Kimmich.

Donnarumma acted recklessly when he was not prepared to face Germany's corner kick. The goalkeeper from the Paris Saint-Germain club was "busy" arguing with the Italian defenders while Kimmich was preparing to take the corner kick. At that time, Donnarumma's position was quite far from the goal.

Jamal Musiala, realizing the advantage, signaled to Kimmich to quickly release the pass. Donnarumma was late in recognizing the dangerous situation. He only reflexively dropped his body as Musiala had already sent the ball into the net.

"We lacked focus. Conceding a goal like that could happen. We will try to do better next time," said Italian forward Moise Kean after the match held at Signal Iduna Park Stadium, Dortmund, Germany, early Monday morning (24/3/2025) Western Indonesia Time.

Similarly, Kimmich made a fatal mistake that resulted in Italy's first goal scored by Kean. Kimmich failed to perfectly control Leroy Sane's pass. The loose ball then fell to Kean's feet, who, with a few touches, immediately fired a powerful shot that goalkeeper Oliver Baumann could not block.

The mistake tarnished Kimmich's impressive performance in this match. In the first half, the German right-back contributed to three of Germany's goals. He scored Germany's opening goal through a penalty kick. Following that, Kimmich orchestrated Musiala's corner kick goal. A few minutes later, Kimmich delivered a precise cross for Tim Kleindienst's header goal.

In total, Kimmich was the player who created the most chances in this match with five chances. He was also named the best player of the match. However, Kimmich's human side was also revealed due to the fatal mistake that led to Kean's goal.

Kean's goal was a spark of enthusiasm for the Italian players in catching up. After losing 1-2 at home in the first meeting, Italy's task became even harder because they were three goals behind. However, Kean continued to fight to keep Italy's hopes alive.

After scoring a goal by capitalizing on Kimmich's mistake, the Napoli striker doubled Italy's lead by beating Jonathan Tah. Italy's equalizer came in the final minutes of the match through Giacomo Raspadori's penalty.

"The first half was very dominant. We showed everything that is expected in a game like this. In the second half, we played the ball back more. Then the distances became bigger. We made it difficult for ourselves," said German defender Antonio Ruediger.

Fatal mistakes from Donnarumma and Kimmich confirmed that even world champions are still human. They cannot always perform perfectly. There are moments when they lose their footing and make silly mistakes. Donnarumma was not as lucky as Kimmich who was still awarded the best player of the match award. The goalkeeper who is touted as the reincarnation of Gianluigi Buffon received harsh criticism from the Italian public for conceding a silly goal that started from a lack of focus in facing a corner kick situation.

"Every game teaches you a lesson and I think the players realised what they had wasted after those two games. They could have had very different results," Italy coach Luciano Spalletti was quoted as saying by Football Italia.

Italy started the match very badly. The Azzurri allowed Germany to dominate the midfield and be free to create until they conceded three goals in the first half. This was the first time Italy had conceded three goals in a half since June 2009. At that time they were 0-3 behind Brazil in the Confederations Cup.

"I don't think words can do much, but conceding a goal like that will stick in their minds and make them realise that we don't just say things to nag, there's a reason behind it. I doubt they'll make the same mistake again," he added.

After successfully eliminating Italy, Germany is challenged by Portugal in the semifinals. The other semifinal match brings together France and Spain. Germany is highly motivated to win the first European Nations League title in history. Although it has collected four World Cup titles, Germany has never won the European Nations League. (AFP)