BORDEAUX, France -- Germany is facing Italy in a European Championship quarterfinal in Bordeaux on Saturday. Here are five Germany players to watch:---TONI KROOSThe driving force in Germanys midfield, Kroos keeps the team pushing forward and dictates the pace of play.Already an integral part of the World Cup-winning side in Brazil in 2014, Kroos importance to Germany has arguably grown since his move from Bayern Munich to Real Madrid two years ago.The 26-year-old has developed into a complete midfielder. He tracks back well and passes with precision.Kroos has made 444 passes so far at Euro 2016 -- more than any other player -- and has a passing accuracy of 92.34 percent, according to the Opta statistics service.He controls the tempo for us, plays very clever passes, and has taken responsibility in difficult situations, defender Jerome Boateng said of Kroos at the teams tournament base at Evian-les-Bains. Hes become more dangerous shooting on goal and we hope it continues like that.---JEROME BOATENGQuiet and softly spoken, Boateng likes to lead by example.Its a role that he has grown into for Germany and his club side Bayern Munich.Boateng anchors the German defense expertly -- its no coincidence the side is the only one yet to concede a goal in the tournament -- while building attacks from deep.After scoring his first goal for Germany in the 3-0 win over Slovakia in the round of 16, Boateng will be encouraged to roam forward.Intelligent, precise and calm, Boateng has a keen eye for the runs of teammates, and he has a pass to match.---THOMAS MUELLERMueller has a curious relationship with the European Championship.In nine games over two tournaments he is yet to find the net for Germany, a statistic that contrasts his goal scoring feats at the World Cup, where he has scored 10 goals in 13 games over two events.Its not as if Mueller hasnt had any opportunities. At Euro 2016, hes missed a series of chances particularly in the games against Northern Ireland and Slovakia. So far in the tournament, Mueller has had 17 shots at goal.Mueller arrived in France following his best season yet for Bayern Munich, scoring 32 goals and setting up 12 others, helping the side to a Bundesliga and German Cup double.As soon as a forward has chances its a good sign, Germany coach Joachim Loew said before the Slovakia game.---MARIO GOMEZGomez has had to overcome a lot to stake his claim for a place in Germanys squad, never mind the starting 11.Gomez missed Germanys World Cup win in 2014 when he was left out of the squad after an injury-blighted season. After impressing for Besiktas in Turkey, he was recalled to the German side in November.He has started Germanys last two games at Euro 2016, scoring in both and earning praise from Loew for creating space for the other attackers.The only thing that counts here for me is that we become European champions, Gomez said this week.---MANUEL NEUERNeuer is considered by many to be the best goalkeeper in the world, though hell be facing some competition in Italian veteran Gianluigi Buffon at the other end.Neither goalkeeper has conceded a goal yet at the tournament, as Buffon was rested for Italys 1-0 defeat to Ireland in the group stage.Neuer has needed to be at his best at times in Euro 2016, particularly in the opening game against Ukraine and then again against Slovakia when he denied Juraj Kucka an equalizer before the break.To be fair, he hasnt had much to do, but when hes been called into action he almost always delivers. Lapses in concentration from inactivity appear a thing of the past.Over the last four or five years he has shown that he is an outstanding goalkeeper in every area, Buffon said of Neuer on Friday. Black Ultra Boost China . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Cheap Ultra Boost China .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. http://www.cheapultraboostchina.com/ . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. All White Ultra Boost China .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Youth Ultra Boost China . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. As Indias batsmen flogged a tired attack around Chennai, as they accumulated record after record, with the foul smell of sewage wafting from the Buckingham Canal, just behind the Anna Pavilion in Chennai, adding to the agony, it became painfully obvious that England had no answers to the questions posed of them this tour. At least it isnt a timeless Test; England could have been out there for weeks.It would be nice to think that a day like this - a day when the paucity of Englands weapons in such conditions were laid bare - would lead to change. It would be nice to think the ECB would act to improve things.But they wont. And they wont because it wont pay to do so.Oh, they would like to win in India. It would be great.But they wouldnt like to win so dearly that they will give their players a decent chance of doing so. They wouldnt like to win so dearly that they will seek to prevent the increasing marginalisation of spin bowling in county cricket, or to alter the path upon which they are set which will continue to prioritise white-ball cricket to the detriment of everything else. They say they are the guardians of Test cricket, but scratch the surface and almost everything they do is about developing the shorter forms of the game.Absurd though it may sound, England really havent bowled badly here. Their seamers, in particular, were almost heroic on the fourth day. Despite having been in the field since the dawn of time (well, thats how it felt, anyway), they generated pace and hostility with the third - yes, third - new ball and their fielders flung themselves around with admirable commitment. Jos Buttlers gully catch would have been outstanding at any time; in the 171st over of the innings, it was incredible. There is no faulting them for effort.The spinners will probably receive the bulk of the flak. And it is true that they are, judged dispassionately, probably not up to the challenge they have been given on this tour. Liam Dawson at least kept the run-rate under some sort of control and Moeen Ali bowled about as well as he can. You can reasonably ask no more.But they have been let down by a system that treats tours like this as necessary evils. They have been let down by a system that is based around winning the Ashes - at least at home - and, of late, winning limited-overs tournaments. But it is Asia where the heart of the game beats strongest and the Ashes, for all its charm and (crucially) value, is increasingly the cricketing equivalent of the Boat Race in its parochialism. Theres no reason it should be prioritised above all other series.Its worth revisiting the causes of the current malaise.As things stand, a disproportionate amount of the County Championship is already squeezed into the opening two months of the season. That means counties have little use for spin bowlers as their seamers can do the job just fine on surfaces that are often helpful. A new ball is available at 80 overs and, in recent seasons, there have been various experiments surrounding the use of the heavy roller which have, inadvertently, sometimes made life even easier for seamers.Meanwhile, counties have sometimes prepared pitches that provide copious assistance to their medium-pace swing bowlers. While Jesse Ryder and Darren Stevens are both admirable cricketers in many ways, there is no way they should have been taking the quantity of wickets they were able to plunder in recent years. As a result, the role of the spinner has diminished. Last seasons controversial but well-intentioned change to the toss regulations have helped to redress that imbalance a touch. However, any county thinking of signing a young spinner has to think carefully of the value they will gain from them. Unless they can bat and unless they can contain in the short forms of the game, it is hard to see how they willl gain the experience they require to develop to their maximum potential these days.ddddddddddddOne of the most talented young spinners in England, the left-armer Ravi Patel, has played three first-class matches in the last two seasons. Why? Primarily because he isnt much of a batsman and his team - Middlesex - rely on a strong seam attack and the off-spinning all-rounder Ollie Rayner. Its not his fault, its not their fault. Its the system.The situation is compounded by the stance towards turning pitches. While few blink an eye of a side is bowled out in a session by seamers - atmospheric conditions and swing were credited when Sussex blew Warwickshire away before lunch at Edgbaston in 2014 - if spinners achieve anything similar, you can be sure there will be penalties. Hampshire discovered this in 2011 when they were penalised despite producing a pitch that resulted in a game being drawn in four days. More recently, there were whispers from rivals during the 2016 season that Somerset were, in some way, doing something untoward by preparing pitches that helped their spin bowlers. A good argument might have been made to suggest they were providing a service for English cricket.There is a theory expounded by former spinners that the prevalence of limited-overs cricket threatens to ruin the action of young spinners. With their living being dictated largely by their success in T20, they are encouraged to develop their white-ball skills - the quicker, flatter deliveries you tend to see in that format - rather than learning the art of flight and guile that rendered Graeme Swann, who was brought up on spinning surfaces at Wantage Road, such a fine player.But its not just spin bowlers who struggle because of this situation. It is developing batsmen who find themselves on tours of Asia having never experienced anything like it before. Yes, there are development tours, including increasingly frequent camps in Asian conditions, but these are minor details when a major change of mindset is required.And it will only get worse. From 2020, if current plans are passed, there will be no first-class cricket at all in August with the new-team T20 competition running as the priority. From 2017 there will be 14 (rather than 16) Championship games a season with every chance it will reduce further within a few more years. The opportunities for spinners to gain the volume of overs they require to develop their skills will diminish, along with the schedule. We may see ever more players who can bowl a pretty tight four overs, who can field with athleticism and have tremendous power and bat speed. But were losing skills that used to be common in English cricket and once theyre gone it will be very tough to recover them.It would be simplistic to blast the ECB for not caring and not acting. Their priority - probably quite rightly - is the survival of the game in England. They know how desperate the plight of the game is and they are to be applauded for trying to arrest the decline.They have concluded - again, probably quite rightly - that the vehicle for recovery is T20. If they can get more people to see the game, they believe those people will fall in love with it. Again, theyre right. Its still a great game. If we can expose more people to it, theres no reason they wont fall for its charms. It is ironic, though, that it was the ECB who put the sport behind a paywall and have kept it there - despite gathering evidence of the downsides - for more than decade.So get used to losing in India. Because its the price were going to have to pay for our brave new world of T20 cricket. 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