Spain and Italy will collide in an international friendly match on Thursday at Dacia Arena in Udine, Italy.
Spain, who are one of the favorites to win Euro 2016, will look to keep their winning streak alive, as they continue their preparation for their title defense in the European championship. The Spanish national team, who won in their last eight fixtures, will be playing their first match this year.
The defending European champions are expected to lean on their defense anew, which was their main weapon in their fixtures last year, surrendering just one goal in all matches. Iker Casillas has been sharing duties with David de Gea, who is expected to eventually become Spain's No. 1 goalkeeper.
Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque is not expecting a walk in the park, though, saying that Italy have similarities to Serie A club Juventus. Del Bosque said that Italy will be a tough nut to crack despite not having a top-class center-forward in their roster.
"I saw Juve in Munich and I expect an Italy similar to that model: pressing, physical effort, no problem in leaving the initiative to the opposition and then hurting them on the counter," Del Bosque said via International Business Times.
Meanwhile, Italy will try to bounce back from their last two unimpressive performances. The Azzuri took a humbling 3-1 loss to Belgium in November last year, which was followed by a 2-2 draw with Romania.
Italy coach Antonio Conte, who will step down from his post after their Euro 2016 campaign and return to club competition, is hoping that his players will live up to the challenge in their upcoming matches. Conte said that their friendlies against Spain and Germany on March 30 will be a good gauge of their level of preparedness for Euro 2016.
"I'm anticipating a tough match," Conte told AS via Bleacher Report. "I wanted this friendly against Spain and the one against Germany to see what sort of shape we're in. Spain are a very good side, they've been on a run of a lot of victories and they only slipped up at the last World Cup."
Live Stream, Start Time and Where to Watch
The Spain-Italy international soccer friendly match will kick off at 3:45 p.m. ET and will be shown live on ESPN 2. Fans can also catch the action through online live streaming via WatchESPN.
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