Intro:

German boss Joachim Loew admitted on Tuesday that Germany can overcome Italy in the semi-finals of Euro 2012, despite having never beaten the Italians in a major tournament.

Script:

Germany head coach Joachim Loew believes the time has come for the Germans to end their miserable record against the Italians.

The two teams face each other on Thursday in the second semi-final, with the winners set to face either defending champions Spain or their Iberian neighbours Portugal.

SOUNDBITE (German) Joachim Loew, Germany head coach:

"Not so long ago we payed them in a friendly in Dortmund which ended a 1-1 draw and we realised that their team had gone through a radical change since 2010. Italian football has developed on whole and also the national team. So, I think we know where they stand. They have some excellent strengths, lots of qualities and they have performed really well through this tournament - but we also know where the difficulties lie for us and where they might have problems."

There's a bit of deja-vu attached to the match.

Germany played Italy in the World Cup semi-finals in 2006, but late extra time strikes stopped them from going through.

SOUNDBITE (German) Joachim Loew, Germany head coach:

"In football there is no such thing as revenge. There is no way we can make good the defeat in 2006, change the past and go back in time. Forget about that. You can't relive the past. Another stat is that Germany has never won against Italy in a major tournament but that doesn't play any roll at all for our young players."

Loew will have Bastian Schweinsteiger back on side on Thursday as he's been passed fit for Germany's semi-final against Italy in Warsaw.