Oezil expects Germany to reach final

Germany star Mesut Oezil is confident that Joachim Loew’s side will overcome Italy in the Euro 2012 semi-finals en route to the trophy.

The playmaker, who has been an integral part of the German team with three assists, also singled out two players from the opposing camp as potential threats.

“The past does not matter. The other teams have great respect for us. Our goal is to bring the European title back to Germany,” he said.

“We are here for this. We can beat Italy and we want the title.

“Andrea Pirlo is a world-class player, Mario Balotelli is a great striker. But we do not think of the individual adversaries. Italy are a very compact team, but we can beat them.”

Despite his confidence, Oezil refused to get carried away as talk of a Germany-Spain final escalated.

“It would be wrong for me to say Germany against Spain would be a ‘dream final’,” he said.

“There are four teams in the semi-finals and we need to make the next step, which also applies to Spain.

“We’re fully concentrated on Italy and Italy only, and only then will we see who we play against.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter, does it? Whether it’s Spain or Portugal.”

Loew was hoping the midfielder would put in a big performance in their quarter-final against Greece and he duly delivered with two assists in a 4-2 win.

“I was immensely happy for me to have shown what I can do at last,” Oezil said.

“I will demonstrate in the game against Italy that I can put my foot on the pedal.”