Mesut Ozil believes that Germany will beat Italy and win Euro 2012

Mesut Ozil believes that Euro 2012 favourites Germany will have not trouble beating Italy in Thursday's semi-final.

The game is the first competitive tie between the two football heavyweights since Italy eliminated the Germans in their 2006 World Cup semi-final, before going on to lift the trophy.

However, in being asked whether he and his teammates fear a repeat episode against the Nazionale this coming week, Ozil hinted at a new level of confidence flowing through the German camp.

"We are here to win the European title. I am convinced that we will succeed," the Real Madrid man declared to the assembled press today.

"The past does not concern us. The difference from 2006 is that we have become very consistent and can now beat strong opponents. In addition, we have developed since 2010 and again have become a lot better.

"Italy will also sense this. Other national teams have great respect for us. Our goal is to bring home to Germany the European title. We are here only for this. We can beat Italy and we can win the title.

"Andrea Pirlo is a world class player, Mario Balotelli is a great striker. But we do not think about individual adversaries - Italy are a very compact team but we can beat them."

The Real Madrid playmaker already has three assists in four games for Germany at Euro 2012 ahead of Thursday's semi-final.