Raphael Honigstein
European football journalist on BBC Radio 5 live

If we don't beat Italy tonight we might as well stop trying. This is the poorest Italian side, man for man, in years.

Joachim Low has gone to three at the back despite opinion back home and elsewhere being against him. He doesn't care what other people think now, he has the courage to make big changes.

Alastair Macduff: Fancy the winner of this clash to go on and win the tournament. Not expecting many goals, but should be fascinating nonetheless. 

Givemore Takaidza: This one will go either way, but a 2-1 or one solitary goal to decide the match. The Germans are good on paper, if they allow the Italians to surge ahead, I see them having problems to contain these Italians. The Azzuri can defend a goal until the match ends, so the Germans must not allow Italy to go 1 up if they want to win.

David Lydiate: Some say "boring " I say winning. The winner of this game will win the tournament. I say Germany, because they always do - let's be honest if they don't reach a final it is A SHOCK!

Here's the Italy line-up: One change for them as well. Daniele de Rossi was a doubt and does indeed drop to the bench, with Stefano Sturaro coming in to replace him. 

Italy XI: Buffon: Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Florenzi, Sturaro, Parolo, Giaccherini, De Sciglio; Pelle, Eder.

Remember Antonio Conte booting the ball down the touchline in the Spain game? 

The former Juventus and soon-to-be Chelsea manager has been one of the stars of the tournament for my money. Italy weren't much fancied before the tournament began, but that's all changed now - no small thanks to the effect Conte's had on his players.

"When we started our journey we had little credibility in the eyes of the Italian press and the international media," Conte said on Friday. 

"Everyone thought it was the dark days regarding talent in the Italian game. We've shown that through hard work, organisation and having 23 top players willing to work, we can overcome obstacles that appear difficult from the start." 

BBC One

BBC One coverage of the game starts at 19:30 BST andis available on this page (if you're in the UK).

In the studio are four pretty handy strikers back in their day - Gianluca Vialli, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry and Gary Lineker.

Guy Mowbray and Martin Keown are the pair in the commentary box in Bordeaux.

BBC Radio 5 Live

The Republic of Ireland may have already gone home, but Conor McNamara and Kevin Kilbane are still in France - they are today's BBC Radio 5 live team. Their commentary is available on this page, and the build-up's just about to begin.

We've just got the Germany team through and it's a bit inconclusive as to whether it's going to be a back three or a back four. 

Benedikt Howedes does comes in for Julian Draxler though, in their only change. So it's a defender for an attacking midfielder but there could be a bit of shifting around in the rest of the pitch to accommodate... One to watch.

Germany XI: Neuer; Hector, Howedes, Hummels, Khedira, Ozil, Müller, Boateng, Kroos, Kimmich, Gomez.

Italy soon to follow.

BBC Monitoring

The German press are understandably pre-occupied with the fact that their team have never beaten Italy in a competitive fixture, a statistic that one paper says is as "disturbing to German minds as the evil magic of Lord Voldemort".

"What Italy trauma?" asks Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), external, while Sueddeutsche, external says "Trauma? Ma Che Cazzo!"  - an Italian phrase which we'll say translates to "What the heck are you taking about?"

FAZ looks to club form and asks: "Who has gleefully broken the spell of the magical Italian defence triangle of Juventus... these masters of the dark arts of defence? None other than striker Thomas Mueller... And who has made a major contribution to Juve's success this season? German international Sami Khedira."

Die Welt, external lists seven reasons why Germany could break the curse, including "because Bayern have had a good run against Juve" and "because Balotelli isn't playing".

Der Tagesspiegel headline (below) - "His last time?"

Image source, Der Tagesspiegel

Anyway. All of this talk of jinxes, complexes and hoodoos got us thinking. When have you witnessed these dark footballing forces at work? And if you're a believer, maybe you've got some tips on how to give your side a helping hand.

My own attempts at this backfired horribly during the 2010 World Cup, when I thought eating roast beef would give England the edge over Germany. Having the oven cracked up to 250 for the half-hour sizzle on the hottest day of the year as England lost 4-1 did not make for a happy occasion...

Let us know by tweeting #bbceuro2016,, external or you can text on 81111 from UK mobiles (if you do, please include a name).

Image source, Getty Images

A brief aside about Low. He's from south-west Germany, not too far away from Freiburg, which is all about organic supermarkets, brown sandals and a booming local solar power industry. 

I've a friend there and on a visit not so long ago went to interview the head of Freiburg's youth academy, who summed up so much about the place with a story about a player who'd turned up late for training because he had a flute lesson...

As we've seen already of course, Low is very much the free spirit. Bit of tactical shifting won't leave him flummoxed.

Image source, Reuters

No confirmed team news yet but the chat is that Germany are going to play with three at the back to match up with Italy...

We're just seeing footage of the Germany team arriving at the ground now. Joachim Low in his signature v-neck. Won't come as a surprise to you that Manuel Neuer does not suit a backward-facing baseball cap.

Germany midfielder Toni Kroos doesn't sound too worried either. 

"Why should I have an 'Italian trauma'? I haven't played that often against Italy, so previous matches were nothing to do with me," he said.

"They are hard to play against, stand deep and are very relaxed on the ball, they've played like that for years.

"Italy will be the strongest team we have faced until now. I'm looking forward to it and I'm very optimistic."

Image source, Getty Images

Germany boss Joachim Low clearly isn't one for a jinx or hoodoo though.

"I am not a fan of digging things up from the past. We don't have an Italy complex," he said in the build-up to today's game. 

He really hits it home with this next bit:

"This is cold coffee. I prefer a fresh espresso, and we need to make sure it tastes good on Saturday."

Love that. Apparently 'cold coffee' in German pretty much equates with 'yesterday's news' in English.

Image source, Reuters

It's true. Germany have never beaten Italy in tournament football.

They've played eight games with Germany drawing four, but every time they've met in a knockout tie, Italy have come out on top.

Here's how those play out:

1970 World Cup semi-final: Italy 4-3 West Germany (aet)

1982 World Cup final: Italy 3-1 West Germany

2006 World Cup semi-final: Germany 0-2 Italy (aet)

2012 European Championship semi-final: Germany 1-2 Italy

Tonight all eyes are on Bordeaux for the next chapter. Excited is the word...

Germany v Italy. They don't come much bigger than this. 

Image source, Rex Features

From Marco Tardelli's spectacular joy to Fabio Grosso's tribute act 24 years later, games between these major powers have given us some of the most enduring and beautiful moments in the history of the game.

Image source, Getty Images

How about the Game of the Century - Italy's 4-3 World Cup semi-final victory over West Germany in 1970?..

...And Mario Balotelli's wonder strike as Italy went through to the Euro 2012 final... 

Can you spot the pattern here?