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Under-21 quarter-finals: Germany vs Italy facts

Previous meetings, form guides and key facts ahead of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship match.

Germany finished top of Group B with the only perfect record in the group stage
Germany finished top of Group B with the only perfect record in the group stage Getty Images

Two of the most successful sides in UEFA European Under-21 Championship history meet in the fourth quarter-final as Germany face Italy at the DAC Arena in Dunajska Streda.

Germany, who claimed the last of their three titles in 2021, finished top of Group B with the only perfect record at the 2025 tournament, beating Slovenia (3-0), Czechia (4-2) and holders England (2-1). Their nine goals scored is the joint-most along with Portugal.

Five-time champions Italy were runners-up to Spain in Group A after a 1-1 Matchday 3 draw left both teams on seven points; the Azzurrini had overcome both Romania and hosts Slovakia 1-0 in their first two games.

The winners of this tie will play Denmark or France in the semi-finals in Košice on 25 June.

Previous European U21 Championship meetings

Matches 2
Germany wins 1
Italy wins 1
Draws 0
Germany goals 1
Italy goals 1

This is only the sides' third competitive meeting with each having won one of the previous two. Federico Bernardeschi's 31st-minute goal gave Luigi Di Biagio's Italy a 1-0 victory on Matchday 3 of the 2017 finals, taking Italy through as Group C winners; a Germany side coached by Stefan Kuntz also progressed as runners-up and went on to reach the final, where they beat Spain 1-0.

The teams' first meeting came in the 2009 semi-final in Helsingborg, where a 48th-minute goal from Andreas Beck proved enough for Horst Hrubesch's side to overcome an Italy team coached by Pierluigi Casiraghi. Germany went on to lift the title for the first time.

Germany were victorious in the last meeting between the countries, a 4-2 friendly success in Ancona on 19 November 2022. Goals from Denis Huseinbasic, Lazar Samardzic and Kevin Schade gave the visitors a three-goal lead and, though Matteo Cancellieri pulled Italy back into contention, Maurice Malone wrapped up the win with a penalty after Italy's Giorgio Cittadini and Raoul Bellanova had both been dismissed.

That was Germany's fifth win in the ten friendly fixtures between the teams; Italy have a single victory.

Giuseppe Ambrosino's equaliser earned Germany a 1-1 draw against Italy in an Under-20 friendly on 27 March 2023.

Niccolò Pisilli's double helped Italy to a 3-2 win against Germany in the 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round.

Wilfried Gnonto got Italy's second goal in a 2-2 draw with Germany in the 2022 U19 elite round.

Paul Wanner scored Germany's second goal in a 3-2 group stage win against Italy in the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

On 6 September 2021 Nelson Weiper was on target in Germany's 2-1 Under-17 friendly win against Italy.

On 11 September 2018 Jan Thielmann found the net in Germany's 2-2 U17 friendly draw against Italy.

Form guide

Germany

Germany's record in U21 quarter-finals is W2 L4. They were victorious in their first, against Spain in 1982 (0-1 a, 2-0 h), but lost the next four, including a 1-0 defeat by Greece in 1998 in their first one-off last-eight tie, before beating Denmark 6-5 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in their second, in 2021.

This is Germany's 11th appearance in the final tournament and a seventh in succession. They reached the semi-finals or better in four successive tournaments between 2015 and 2021.

Germany claimed their third U21 title in 2021, when they equalled Italy's record of reaching a third successive final, having also lifted the trophy in 2009 and 2017.

Two years ago a team coached by Antonio Di Salvo – in charge since 2021 – failed to progress beyond the group stage for the first time since 2013, finishing bottom of Group C behind England, Israel and Czechia having not won a game (D1 L2).

Germany were unbeaten in qualifying for these finals (W8 D2), finishing four points above runners-up Poland in Group D.

Having hit only the seventh hat-trick in U21 EURO history on Matchday 1 and also found the net against Czechia, Nick Woltemade finished the group stage as the finals' top scorer on four goals.

Italy

This is Italy's 12th U21 quarter-final, more than any other side.

Italy's record in quarter-finals is W6 L5. They lost their first three, in the first three editions of the competition in 1978, 1980 and 1982, but won six of the next seven before going down 5-3 after extra time to Portugal in 2021. That was their first defeat in a last-eight tie since 1988, when they were eliminated by France (1-2 a, 2-2 h).

The joint most successful side in European U21 Championship history with five titles, a record they share with Spain, Italy are in the final tournament for the 15th time. They have qualified for all but one of the 14 editions since 2000, missing out only in 2011.

The Azzurrini are the only side to win three successive titles, between 1992 and 1996, and lifted the trophy five times in seven editions between 1992 and 2004 – although they have reached only one final since, losing to Spain in 2013.

In 2023 a team coached by Paolo Nicolato finished third in Group D behind France and Switzerland, beating the Swiss 3-2 but losing to both France (1-2) and Norway (0-1).

With Carmine Nunziata having succeeded Nicolato as coach, the Azzurrini conceded only four goals in finishing top of Group A unbeaten (W6 D4) to book their place at these finals.

Links and trivia

Germany forward Nicolò Tresoldi was born in Cagliari, moving to Germany in 2017.

Tresoldi's father Emanuele was a European U21 champion with Italy in 1994.

Gnonto made his senior international debut on 4 June 2022 in Italy's 1-1 UEFA Nations League draw against Germany. Ten days later he scored his first goal in a 5-2 defeat against Germany in Monchengladbach, becoming Italy's youngest goalscorer aged 18 years 222 days.

Germany forward Brajan Gruda and Italy defender Diego Coppola are now Brighton team-mates after the latter joined the Premier League side on 17 June.