Germany and Italy drew 1-1 Wednesday with a goal from Miroslav Klose levelled by Giuseppe Rossi in a friendly between European traditional rivals.
The hosts displayed the organization and solidity that pushed them to third place at the 2010 World Cup, while Italy seemed on their way to recovery after their poor display at the tournament in South Africa, where they crashed out in the group phase.
The early minutes in the Westfalenstadion offered a fast and gritty game that slowed down after Germany took the lead on 16 minutes with veteran striker Klose.
A first frontal attack from Germany pierced the Italian defence with Klose deflecting a low feed from Thomas Mueller past Gianluigi Buffon.
The goalkeeper found little assistance from the young central defenders Andrea Ranocchia and Leonardo Bonucci after Mueller stormed on the right flank of the box off an assist by Mesut Ozil.
Klose again came face to face with Buffon two minutes later, but found the Italian captain ready to deflect.
The Azzurri relied upfront with Antonio Cassano trying to provide feeds for Giampaolo Pazzini, but their first shot came only on 37 minutes, when Giorgio Chiellini squared from the left for a great volley from Daniele De Rossi that met the hands of Manuel Neuer.
Defender Mattia Cassani also tried a shot from the right flank, but had it blocked by Dennis Aogo seconds before the break.
Germany sought to control the game in the second half and ran a first risk when substitute striker Rossi twice fired from tight angles.
On a counter attack from Italy, Marco Borriello, also a substitute, forced a diving save on 66 minutes before Riccardo Montolivo fired a loose ball above the bar.
With nine minutes left, Rossi burst into the box and had a first attempt stopped by Neuer before firing home the rebound.
Sami Khedira and Kevin Grosskreutz brought two last threats to Buffon, who blocked the first effort with his left boot and watched the ball fly wide on his left.
"The draw is fair, losing would have been an insult," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "We played a good game on a very difficult pitch.
"We are still behind Germany. We still have a lot to work, but we know that we are on our way to do well."
His German counterpart Joachim Loew said that his many changes in the second half caused the team to lose some of their rythm. "But I wanted to give the players the experience.
"We wanted to hold our lead, but lost some of the tempo later in the game. We have a young side, and they are doing well," Loew said.
The hosts displayed the organization and solidity that pushed them to third place at the 2010 World Cup, while Italy seemed on their way to recovery after their poor display at the tournament in South Africa, where they crashed out in the group phase.
The early minutes in the Westfalenstadion offered a fast and gritty game that slowed down after Germany took the lead on 16 minutes with veteran striker Klose.
A first frontal attack from Germany pierced the Italian defence with Klose deflecting a low feed from Thomas Mueller past Gianluigi Buffon.
The goalkeeper found little assistance from the young central defenders Andrea Ranocchia and Leonardo Bonucci after Mueller stormed on the right flank of the box off an assist by Mesut Ozil.
Klose again came face to face with Buffon two minutes later, but found the Italian captain ready to deflect.
The Azzurri relied upfront with Antonio Cassano trying to provide feeds for Giampaolo Pazzini, but their first shot came only on 37 minutes, when Giorgio Chiellini squared from the left for a great volley from Daniele De Rossi that met the hands of Manuel Neuer.
Defender Mattia Cassani also tried a shot from the right flank, but had it blocked by Dennis Aogo seconds before the break.
Germany sought to control the game in the second half and ran a first risk when substitute striker Rossi twice fired from tight angles.
On a counter attack from Italy, Marco Borriello, also a substitute, forced a diving save on 66 minutes before Riccardo Montolivo fired a loose ball above the bar.
With nine minutes left, Rossi burst into the box and had a first attempt stopped by Neuer before firing home the rebound.
Sami Khedira and Kevin Grosskreutz brought two last threats to Buffon, who blocked the first effort with his left boot and watched the ball fly wide on his left.
"The draw is fair, losing would have been an insult," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "We played a good game on a very difficult pitch.
"We are still behind Germany. We still have a lot to work, but we know that we are on our way to do well."
His German counterpart Joachim Loew said that his many changes in the second half caused the team to lose some of their rythm. "But I wanted to give the players the experience.
"We wanted to hold our lead, but lost some of the tempo later in the game. We have a young side, and they are doing well," Loew said.
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