Italy striker Luca Toni has warned his side that they will have to blot out the threat of Germany's ace marksman Miroslav Klose if they are to reach the World Cup final.

Werder Bremen striker Klose has already netted five goals this summer, having also scored five times in the World Cup finals four years ago.

Toni warned ahead of the semi-final between the Eurpean powerhouses: "Klose has proved how great he is as a striker, not just in this World Cup, but in previous tournaments.

"He has scored so many goals and he is very strong physically and mentally.

"In some games he may go unnoticed for much of the game and then suddenly he finds the target, as we saw against Argentina.

"I think our defenders will have to be extremely careful with him, because if you give him a chance he will punish us."