Broadcast info
Who's playing: Viewers are surely in for a classic as two giants of European football - Italy and Spain - lock horns in a battle for top spot in their World Cup qualifying group this Thursday.
What time: Thursday, October 6th at 11:45 PST/14:45 EST/18:45 UTC/19:45 BST/20:45 CET
What stadium: This game will be played at Juventus Stadium. Located in Turin, it's the home ground of Italian champions Juventus and seats up to 41,507 fans.
Which channel:
- In the USA: Fox Sports 1 USA, Fox Sports GO, Fox Soccer 2GO USA
- In Italy: RAI Uno
- In Spain: TVE La 1
- In the UK: ITV 4 UK
- In Canada: Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet One
*View up-to-date broadcast listings
Match facts and other historical stats
- Italy are unbeaten in their last 51 qualifying matches dating back to over a decade (38 wins, 13 draws)
- The last team to defeat the Azzurri was France (a 3-1 result on September 6, 2006)
- Spain have not lost a World Cup qualifier in over 20 years (last defeat was back in March 1993 against Denmark)
- Spain have faced Italy 44 times. La Furia Roja have won 12, the Azzurri 17, and there have been 15 draws.
- During that period, Italy have scored 54 goals vs. Spain's 48
- This will be the latest meeting between the two sides since meeting at the round of 16 during this summer's Euro tournament, where Italy won 2-0
Team news
Italy
Giampiero Ventura's first game in charge did not go as planned. The ex-Torino boss, who took over following the departure of Antonio Conte to Chelsea, saw his side suffer a 3-1 reversal to France in a friendly. However, the Azzurri rebounded by defeating Israel by the same score-line, giving Ventura his first competitive win, and more important, making sure that Italy's long-standing record in qualifying matches remains intact.
Italy's last two World Cups have been nothing short of a disaster. In 2010 and 2014, the Azzurri were dumped out at the group stages, and with the 2018 edition looming on the horizon, they will naturally be hoping to avoid a third straight embarrasing performance over in Russia.
Despite impressing so far with new club Nice, there is still no room in the squad for the enigmatic Mario Balotelli. Instead, Ventura has opted to go with players like Graziano Pelle, Eder, and Ciro Immobile up front, and it remains to be seen if Balotelli ever will get a shot at featuring for his national side.
Spain
Like Italy, Spain are currently under the tutelage of a new manager. Julen Lopetegui, who previously coached Portuguese outfit Porto, is now the man in charge following Vicente del Bosque's retirement. La Furia Roja come into this fixture having crushed minnows Liechenstein 8-0, and prior to that, they earned a 2-0 win over Belgium in a friendly. Having had a disappointing World Cup - which saw them crash out in the first round - Spain will be eager to re-assert themselves on the bigger stage.
Since winning the Euro in 2012 by brushing aside Italy 4-0, Spain's performances have taken a downward turn. They failed to get past the first knockout rounds at this summer's Euro tournament, and in fact, could have lost by a heavier score-line were it not for the impressive performance of Manchester United shot-stopper David De Gea.
In terms of personnel, there are several notable absences. Bayern Munich's Javi Martinez misses out due to injury, and Lopetegui opted to overlook Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, but De Gea's Red Devils colleague Ander Herrera has been rewarded for his strong performances with his first ever call-up, and Diego Costa also is among the squad traveling to face Italy this Thursday.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
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