Pirlo and Schweini: these two shall pass

Bastian Schweinsteiger is winning his battle to be fit for Thursdays Euro 2012 semi-final against Italy where the relentless midfielder will have to nullify the mercurial Andrea Pirlo if Germany are to end their hoodoo. The Germans have won all four matches so far in Poland and Ukraine. However,they have yet to come up against a midfielder with the class of Pirlo,who has scored or set up all Italys goals here and produced a wonderful display in the quarter-final with England before scoring the cheekiest of penalties.

The dinked spot kick in the shootout showed the 33-year-old is far from over the hill as some had wondered and instead is revelling in a confident spell of form which pundits already think could lead him to be named player of the tournament. Pirlos penalty even surprised me, said Italy coach Cesare Prandelli. There is always something to learn from champions like him.

If anyone can stop his raking passes in Warsaw,it is the dynamic Schweinsteiger,who seems to cover every blade of grass and epitomises Germanys youthful yet experienced side of all-round talents.

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Schweinsteiger suffered an ankle injury in February and it is still hampering his movement but the team is hopeful he can play after missing two days of training to rest.

Bastian is a world class player and he is a leading player in our team, said playmaker Mesut Ozil. I hope he can be fit in time for the game.

Meanwhile,Italy centre half Giorgio Chiellini is back in training after missing the England game with a thigh problem and could feature while Prandelli has niggles to Daniele De Rossi and Ignazio Abate to worry about and right back Christian Maggios suspension.