The World Cup quarter-finals see Italy, Germany, France and Portugal through to the semi-final stage. The Italians got through offering one of the nicest games thus far in their World Cup path, beating Ukraine 3-0 and will be facing the Germans on the 3rd of July. The Germans are coming out of a gruelling 120 minute game with Argentina that was determined on final penalties.
The Italian team moral could not be better, with Toni, Italy's main striker, declaring yesterday that "nothing can stop him now", after he scored two goals against Ukraine. Of course, Germany has the advantage of playing to a home crowd but everyone admits that the technically superior team is Italy.
The winner of the semi-final Italy-Germany will face either France or Portugal who beat Brazil and England respectively to gain their place in the 2006 World Cup semi-finals.
Italians all over have high hopes for the team, hoping they will repeat the 1982 World Cup victory. A boost that many believe is necessary for the future of Italian football following the ongoing match-fixing scandals and as a further push for the Italian economy through the positive feelings it will provide.
