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Decision time for Conte

2016-06-30 03:40:00 from:SNTV

Italy trained on Wednesday (29th June) ahead of their quarter-final clash against old foes Germany at Euro 2016.

Much to think about for Italian coach Antonio Conte.

His Italian side prepare to face Germany in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals- a team they've never lost to at a major tournament - Now Germans call Italy their "feared opponent".

Saturday's last eight game will be a rematch of the 2012 semi-final, when Mario Balotelli struck twice in Warsaw for a 2-1 victory.

Italy might have to face Germany without key midfielders Antonio Candreva and Daniele de Rossi.

Candreva has sat out Italy's last two matches with a hamstring injury.

De Rossi had to be replaced in their round of 16 win against Spain by Thiago Motta due to a hip injury, and is a doubt for the match against Germany.

Italy team doctor Enrico Castellacci says the outlook for the pair doesn't look good

SOUNDBITE: (Italian) Enrico Castellacci, Italy team doctor (On midfielder Antonio Candreva injury):

"Candreva had a serious lesion, a first-second degree hamstring lesion. He tried really hard to recover as fast as possible, and he had a clear improvement, but not enough to bring him back with the team. De Rossi suffered a violent contusion to his right thigh, with a haematoma and the partial tear of some fibres of the vastus lateralis muscle, which is where he suffered the trauma. We're doing all that we can for him, and he's doing everything he can as well. He's working really hard, and we don't have any timescale for his comeback."

Neither player have trained since the win.

Motta himself will not be available for the quarter-finals, as the Paris Saint-German midfielder is suspended after receiving his second yellow card of the tournament during the match against Spain.

Germany beat Italy 4-1 in a friendly last March in Munich, the first win for the German side against Italy since 1995.

It's all set up for what should be an anthralling encounter on Saturday

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