Italy vs USA Preview: How to Watch, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
After a disappointing draw at home to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday night, Italy are back in action on Tuesday evening as they play the USA in Belgium.
The Azzurri's draw with Portugal ensured they will remain in the top tier of the Nations League. Meanwhile, the USA will hope to improve on their last performance which saw them lose 3-0 to England last Thursday.
Check out 90min's preview of the game below.
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How to Watch
When Is Kick Off? | Tuesday 20 November |
What Time Is Kick Off? | 19:45 (GMT) |
Where Is It Played | Luminus Arena |
TV Channel/ Live Stream? | Sky Sports |
Referee? | Cuneyt Cakir |
Team News
Ciro Immobile, Giorgio Chiellini, Lorenzo Insigne, Jorginho and Alessandro Florenzi will be unavailable for selection.
This is an unsurprising move by Roberto Mancini, as international friendlies are an opportunity to give younger players with little experience a chance in national colours. Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini is also out with a bruised leg.
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For the USA, Schalke midfielder Weston McKennie has returned to Germany for treatment on a hamstring injury.
Fulham midfielder Luca de la Torre has remained in England to train with his club after his side's 3-0 defeat to the Three Lions in their previous fixture.
Predicted Lineups
Italy | Donnarumma; De Sciglio, Bonucci, Acerbi, Biraghi; Gagliardini, Verratti, Tonali; Grifo, Pavoletti, Berardi. |
USA | Guzan; Yedlin, Miazga, Brooks, Villafana; Pulisic, Trapp, Acosta, Green; Weah, Wood. |
Head to Head Record
Of the eight previous meetings between the two sides, the USA have won only once. Their 1-0 victory in a friendly in 2012 was also the most recent clash between the two nations.
Italy also once won a game against the USA 10-0, back in 1975. A scoreline of that nature is highly unlikely to be repeated on Tuesday.
Recent Form
Each side has only won one of their last five matches, with Italy drawing 0-0 against Portugal on Saturday whilst the USA fell to a 3-0 defeat against England.
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Due to their indifferent form, both teams will be gunning for victory. As a result, this friendly could have an extremely competitive edge to it despite there not being any points to win or lose.
Here's how each team has performed in their last five fixtures:
Italy | USA |
Italy 0-0 Portugal (17/11) | England 3-0 USA (15/11) |
Poland 0-1 Italy (14/10) | USA 1-1 Peru (17/10) |
Italy 1-1 Ukraine (10/10) | USA 2-4 Colombia (12/10) |
Portugal 1-0 Italy (10/09) | USA 1-0 Mexico (12/09) |
Italy 1-1 Poland (07/09) | USA 0-2 Brazil (08/09) |
Prediction
Although Mancini's men were wasteful in front of goal in their last fixture against Portugal, they should possess more than enough quality to overcome a USA side who have struggled against opposition with a pedigree as high as Italy's.
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Conventional wisdom would point to nothing other than a comfortable victory for the Italians, but anything can happen in football.
