ITALY - GERMANY

Italy is a mess now. They were destroyed by Argentina in the “Finalissima” 0:3 and coach Mancini confirmed that the Nations League will be the tournament to make changes and start a new era.

That game was the last one of the captain Chiellini, but also other key players were liberated (not called) by Mancini for this upcoming games: Bernardeschi, Insigne, Verratti, Jorginho and Palmieri. Several more players are out for this games: Immobile, Emerson, Chiesa, Lazzari, Sirigu and Zaccagni.

We must remember that they didn't achieve to qualify for the World Cup (again) after dont be able to beat North Macedonia, and everybody thought that Mancini was going to finish his cycle in the national team. But he stayed for a bit more time to make the transition (add fresh blood and say goodbye to several veterans).

Mancini promised to play the “Finalissima” with the same players who won the Eurocup, as a second chance after the disaster against North Macedonia for the World Cup, and the result was awful again. And it’s a difficult situation because as Mancini said, “there aren’t too many young talents in the Serie A.

So here we will see an Italy with many changes (2nd and even 3rd choice players), lack of motivation and in really bad form.

On the other hand, Germany is improving lately. They are full of energy (several players didn't play the last stages of european competitions like Champions or Europa League) and in a good mood under new coach Flick who is unbeaten so far. He took the team after the EURO and achieved 8 victories and 1 draw (against Netherlands), 34 goals scored (more than 4 per game) and just 3 conceded. Yes, rivals were pretty poor but the team is playing so well and not all top teams have this numbers against poor rivals.

According to German newspapers, the team wants to do good things in this tournament, trying to reach the final. The call-up list is respectable with players playing in important teams and with enormous international experience.

Guests are favorites and I can’t see them losing here.

意大利现在一团糟。他们在“欧美杯”中0:3被阿根廷队摧毁，主教练曼奇尼证实，国家队将是改变并开启新时代。

那场比赛是队长基耶利尼的最后一场比赛，但曼奇尼还为即将到来的比赛解放了（未召唤）其他关键球员：贝尔纳代斯基、因西涅、维拉蒂、若日尼奥和帕尔米耶里。还有几名球员参加了这场比赛：因莫比莱、艾默生、基耶萨、拉扎里、西里古和扎卡尼。

我们必须记住，在未能击败北马其顿之后，他们（再次）未能获得世界杯资格，每个人都认为曼奇尼将在国家队完成他的周期。但他留了更多时间来完成过渡（补充新鲜血液并与几位退伍军人说再见）。

曼奇尼承诺与赢得欧洲杯的同一名球员一起参加“决赛”，作为世界杯对阵北马其顿的灾难后的第二次机会，结果又糟透了。这是一个困难的局面，因为正如曼奇尼所说，“意甲没有太多的年轻天才。 所以在这里我们会看到一个有很多变化的意大利（第二甚至第三选择球员），缺乏动力并且状态非常糟糕。

另一方面，德国最近正在改善。他们精力充沛（有几名球员没有参加欧冠或欧联杯等欧洲比赛的最后阶段），并且在迄今为止保持不败的新教练弗里克的带领下状态很好。欧洲杯之后，他率队取得8胜1平（对阵荷兰），打进34球（场均超过4球），仅丢3球。是的，对手很弱，但球队表现得很好，并不是所有的顶级球队都有这样的数据来对抗差劲的对手。

据德国报纸报道，球队希望在本届赛事中有所表现，努力打进决赛。征召名单对于在重要球队效力的球员和庞大的国际球员来说是值得尊敬的经验。

客队是最更受欢迎的，我不认为他们会在本场输球。

ARMENIA - IRELAND

Odds already dropped a bit for Ireland, I see them favorites here.

Armenia (raned 92nd in the FIFA World Rankings) is a very weak national team, they are competing at this level for the first time after earning promotion during the first two Nations League campaigns. Last time out, they topped a group which included Euro 2020 qualifiers North Macedonia, a return of 11 points from six games being enough to move into the second tier.

However, the highs from that achievement have now been lost completely. Joaquin Caparros's side have won just one of their last 11 matches, suffering six defeats during that period.

On a positive note, their 1-0 success over Montenegro came as recently as March, but a 9-0 thrashing in Norway followed five days later, making it 18 goals conceded in four matches.

Their all-time top scorer Henrikh Mkhitaryan won’t play as he announced his retirement from international football this year. The former Arsenal and Manchester United man appeared 95 times for his country, scoring 32 goals.Armenia's current squad includes a number of names football fans won't be familiar with. The standout player is 1899 Hoffenheim striker Sargis Adamyan who is on loan at Belgian side Club Brugge. The squad also includes experienced defender Varazdat Haroyan who plays for La Liga outfit Cadiz CF and Columbus Crew (MLS) attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayán; but the rest are very weak players.

On the other hand, Ireland (ranked 47th in FIFA World Rankings) comes to this match with the hopes to fight for first place, where Scotland and Ukraine are favorites.

The recent performances of the team have been impressive, including a great and deserved draw 2:2 against a TOP team like Belgium or the goalless draw against Portugal in the World Cup qualifiers (where they didn't manage to pass the stage).

Last year, the Boys in Green endured a difficult start to 2021, but Kenny’s side have rallied since then, bringing about a newfound air of confidence within Irish football.

The full squad of 27 players is available for the coach Stephen Kenny, without any important injury or absence except Anderlecht midfielder Josh Cullen who is suspended.

Ireland is on a great streak of 12 games where they only lost away vs Portugal with a goal conceded in the last seconds. They are in great form, have a better squad and are full of confidence to achieve the victory here.

爱尔兰的指数已经下降了一点，我认为他们是本场取胜的热门。

亚美尼亚（在国际足联世界排名中排名第 92 位）是一支非常弱的国家队，他们在前两次国家联赛中获得升级后第一次参加这个级别的比赛。上一次，他们在包括 2020 年欧洲杯预选赛北马其顿在内的小组中名列前茅，六场比赛的 11 分足以进入第二梯队。

然而，这一成就的兴奋点现在已经完全消失了。华金卡帕罗斯的球队在过去的 11 场比赛中只赢了一场，在那期间遭遇了 6 场失利。

积极的一面是，他们最近在 3 月以 1-0 战胜黑山，但五天后在挪威遭遇惨败，四场比赛丢了 18 个球。

他们的历史最佳射手亨利赫·姆希塔良今年宣布退出国际足坛，他将不会参加比赛。这位前阿森纳和曼联球员出场 95 次他的国家，打进了 32 球。亚美尼亚目前的阵容中有许多球迷不会熟悉的名字。最好的球员是 1899 年霍芬海姆前锋萨尔吉斯·阿达梅扬，他被租借到比利时布鲁日俱乐部。球队还包括经验丰富的后卫 Varazdat Haroyan，他效力于西甲球队 Cadiz CF 和 Columbus Crew (MLS) 攻击型中场 Lucas Zelarayán；但其余的都是非常弱的球员。

另一方面，爱尔兰（在国际足联世界排名中排名第 47 位）希望争夺第一名，其中苏格兰和乌克兰是最受欢迎的。

这支球队最近的表现令人印象深刻，包括与比利时这样的顶级球队2:2战平，以及在世界杯预选赛中0-0战平葡萄牙（他们未能通过阶段）。

去年，绿孩队在 2021 年经历了艰难的开局，但肯尼的球队从那时起就重新振作起来，给爱尔兰人带来了新的信心足球。

主教练斯蒂芬肯尼可以使用全队的27名球员，除了安德莱赫特中场球员乔什卡伦被停赛外，没有任何重要的伤病或缺席。

爱尔兰队连续12场只在最后几秒丢球的情况下输给了葡萄牙队。他们状态很好，拥有更好的阵容，并且对在这里取得胜利充满信心。