Italy vs Germany Nations League quarter-final first leg preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, prediction, form guide
Thursday, March 20, 2025
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When is it? How can you watch it? All you need to know about the UEFA Nations League quarter-final first leg between Italy and Germany.
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Italy and Germany meet in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League quarter-final on Thursday 20 March.
Match at a glance
When: Thursday 20 March (20:45 CET kick-off)
Where: Stadio San Siro, Milan
What: UEFA Nations League quarter-final first leg
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage here
Where to watch Italy vs Germany on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Nations League broadcast partner(s) here.
Predicted team line-ups
Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori; Politano, Barella, Ricci, Tonali, Udogie; Raspadori; Kean
Germany: Baumann; Kimmich, Tah, Rüdiger, Schlotterbeck; Andrich, Goretzka; Adeyemi, Musiala, Sané; Undav
Form guide
Italy (most recent match first): LWWDWW
Germany (most recent match first): DWWWDW
Expert prediction
Paolo Menicucci, match reporter: After a disappointing UEFA EURO 2024 campaign, there have been several positive signs for the Azzurri in the Nations League. Despite the loss of Mateo Retegui to injury, Luciano Spalletti can call upon in-form attacker Moise Kean, who has scored 15 goals in Serie A this season, while the return of Sandro Tonali is a huge boost for the midfield. Germany are strong and the absence of Federico Dimarco is a blow, but the Azzurri will still believe they can reach the Final Four for the third consecutive edition.
What the coaches say
Luciano Spalletti, Italy coach: "The match against Germany always has a certain charm, linked to the past of two very strong national teams. I am convinced that it will be a great match, with both teams playing to win. We will play our match. They will bring the quality they have, forcing us to choose how to face it, but we want to win."
Julian Nagelsmann, Germany coach: "It's important that all players know what they have to do. It will be very difficult to win. It's important that we defend well and have a good mix between defence and attack. In some games that hasn't been the case, and that's our plan. Then we'll try to do the same on Sunday in Dortmund."
How do the Nations League quarter-finals work?
The group winners and runners-up from League A have reached the quarter-final stage of the Nations League.
Ties will take place across two legs, each side playing home and away, with the winners progressing to the Final Four in June 2025.
The semi-finals will be played on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 June 2025 to decide who contests the final and the third-place match on Sunday 8.