Italy targeting historic win against Germany

After seeing Germany's long-unbeaten run in UEFA Women's EURO competition ended in the group stage, Italy will hope to claim their first competitive victory against the champions and reach the last four.

Past meetings
• Germany have won 12 of the previous 25 meetings between the two nations while Italy have recorded four victories.

• Goal difference is massively weighted in favour of Germany: 45-18

• Germany are undefeated in the four UEFA Women's EURO qualifiers in which the pair have met (2 wins, 2 draws), and have also yet to taste defeat in the duo's six encounters in continental finals tournaments (3 wins, 3 draws).

• Germany won 4-0 when the pair met on 9 June 2005 at the UEFA Women's EURO in Preston. Birgit Prinz (9), Conny Pohlers (18), UEFA Women's EURO 2013 tournament ambassador Steffi Jones (55) and Anja Mittag (74) struck the eventual champions' goals in the Group B encounter.

• The line-ups for that game on 9 June 2005:
Italy: Brunozzi, Zorri (Boni 75), Di Filippo, Tona, Panico, Camporese, Pasqui, Masia, Schiavi (Deiana 46), Ficarelli, Conti (Domenichetti 51).
Germany: Rottenberg, Stegemann (Grings 19), Jones, Prinz, Lingor (Wimbersky 61), Mittag (Smisek 77), Minnert, Carlson, Pohlers, Hingst Garefrekes.

• Four years later when the pair met in the quarter-final in Lahti, Inka Grings struck twice (4, 47) with Patrizia Panico (63) replying to make Germany's passage into the semi-finals an uncomfortable one.

• The line-ups for that game on 4 September, 2009:
Germany: Angerer, Peter, Krahn, Behringer, Grings, Prinz (Müller 83), Bresonik, Kulig, Hingst (Fuss 46), Garefrekes, Schmidt (Laudehr 46).
Italy: Picarelli, Gama, D'Adda, Tuttino, Tona, Schiavi, Domenichetti, Gabbiadini, Panico, Pini (Fuselli 87), Carissimi (Zorri 82).

• Germany and Italy have met three times in FIFA World Cup competition (including qualifiers) - Germany are unbeaten in those games (2 wins, 1 draw).

• All four of Italy's victories against Germany have come in friendly matches. The most recent came on 14 March 2007 with a 1-0 triumph in Olhao at the Algarve Cup when Sylvia Fuselli (81) scored the only goal of the game.

• Italy will have less fond memories of their last meeting with the five-time European champions, however, as they lost 5-0 in Osnabruck in a 2011 FIFA Women's orld Cup warm-up game.  the tournament hosts matched the scoreline they achieved when the pair met on 3 August 2006 in Krefeld. Those triumphs mark the biggest by any side in this fixture.

• They also played in opening game of 2010 UEFA European Women's Under-19 finals; Germany won 4-1 in the group stage. Leonie Maier played for Germany, Katia Schroffenegger and Martina Rosucci featured for Italy

• They also played in the opening game of 2003 Women's U19 finals in Germany. Silvia Neid's Germany registered a 2-0 group-stage triumph in which Melanie Behringer, Anja Mittag and subs Lena Goessling and Simone Laudehr (both came on) faced Chiara Marchitelli, Giulia Domenichetti,  Elisa Camporese, Raffaella Manieri and unused sub Giorgia Motta.

Club fixtures
• German clubs have a 100% record in three games against Italian opposition.

• 1. FFC Frankfurt beat ASD CF Verona in 2007/08 UEFA Women's Cup semi-finals 4-2 at home and 3-0 away. Gabbiadini scored in the first leg, also involved were Panico, Giorgia Motta, Alessia Tuttino, and Manieri

• In the 2004/05 UEFA Women's Cup second qualifying round, group-stage hosts 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam beat ASD Torres Calcio 7-5. Nadine Angerer and Mittag lined up against Guiia Domenichetti. Both teams were already through.

• In both cases Frankfurt and Potsdam went on to lift the trophy.

Germany
• Beaten 1-0 by Norway in Kalmar on Wednesday, Germany suffered their first defeat in a UEFA European Women's Championship fixture since a 3-1 home qualifying defeat to the same opponents on 2 May 1996. The intervening 59-game unbeaten run included 53 wins and six draws.

• Germany registered their first victory of UEFA Women's EURO 2013 with a 3-0 defeat of Iceland on Sunday. Lena Lotzen, with her first senior international goal, opened the scoring (24) with Okoyino da Mbabi (55, 84) securing a deserved win for the champions in Vaxjo.

• Okoyino da Mbabi's two goals took her to 19 for the competition (including qualifying), eclipsing the 18-year-old record of her compatriot, Patricia Brocker (18), for a single UEFA European Women's Championship.

• Germany's run of 19 successive victories at UEFA Women's EURO finals since a group stage was introduced in 1991 came to an end as they were held to a goalless draw by the Netherlands in their opening Group B game.

• Although Germany's run of 39 straight UEFA Women's EURO victories and 36 consecutive major qualifying victories, going back to November 1999, was ended in November 2011 by a 2-2 draw in Spain, they dropped no other points and ended eight clear in Group 2.

• Their goal tally from ten games was a typically impressive 64-3 (the next highest was Spain's 43) and included a joint tournament record 17-0 defeat of Kazakhstan a week before the Spain trip.

• They exited the 2011 World Cup on home soil with an extra-time loss to Japan in the quarter-finals, costing them the trophy they had held since 2003 and, for the first time, an Olympic slot.

• Germany's UEFA Women's EURO record reads: Played 112 Won 86 Drawn 19 Lost 7

Italy
• After a 12-game unbeaten run (10 wins), Italy suffered their first defeat under Antonio Cabrini as they were beaten 3-1 by hosts Sweden in their final Group A encounter. Melania Gabbiadini got her side's goal (78) after a Raffaella Manieri own-goal (47) and a Lotta Schelin (49) strike had given the home nation the intiative with Josefine Öqvist (57) adding the third in Halmstad.

• Despite the loss, Denmark's 1-1 draw with Finland was enough to see Italy through as Group A runners-up.

• Italy have never failed to make the last eight of a Women's EURO and were runners-up in 1993 and 1997.

• Denmark were beaten 2-1 by Italy in their second group game. Gabbiadini (55) and Ilaria Mauro (60) put their side in the box seat before Mio Brogaard (66) pulled one back.

• Italy kept up their fine run from 2011 World Cup qualifying in reaching these finals. They clinched first place in Group 1 ahead of Russia with two games left and won nine of their fixtures before a 0-0 draw in Greece in their last match. They scored 35 goals without conceding.

• A month prior to clinching qualification, coach Pietro Ghedin left to take over the Malta men's team and was succeeded by 1982 FIFA World Cup winner Antonio Cabrini.

• Italy have never failed to make the last eight of a Women's EURO and were runners-up in 1993 and 1997.

• This is Panico's fifth UEFA Women's EURO final tournament having played at 1997, 2001, 2005 (the only one in which she did not score) and 2009.

• Antonio Cabrini's side did not concede a goal in qualifying for the finals and extended that run to 11 successive clean sheets with their opening-game goalless draw against Finland until Brogaard struck for Denmark in the 66th-minute of their second Group A encounter.

• Italy registered nine consecutive wins from the start of qualifying until their goalless draw in Greece in their final Group 1 qualifier on 19 September 2013.

• Italy's UEFA Women's EURO record reads: Played 114 Won 62 Drawn 24 Lost 26

Team ties
• Italy defender Laura Neboli plays her club football in Germany for FCR 2001 Duisburg, while goalkeeper Schroffenegger is under contract with FF USV Jena.