Jerome Boateng has insisted that he does not fear Mario Balotelli ahead of the friendly between Germany and Italy on Friday.

The German defender believes that Balotelli is one of the most dangerous players in Europe but claims that he is fully focused on frustrating the AC Milan forward.

"He eliminated us at Euro 2012 but that does not mean that I fear him," Boateng told Bild.

"He is one of the best strikers around in Europe. It's very hard to stop him when he's 100% but that's a nice challenge for our defence and for me personally.

"It's impossible to keep a striker like Balotelli quiet for the full 90 minutes but it's up to me to make sure he does not make an impact. I want to make things hard for him."

Balotelli scored twice to knock Germany out of the Euro 2012 semi-finals.

Written by
Callum Mulvihill