UEFA Nations League: Italy vs Bosnia is live in 100+ countries; here's how to watch it

Topics: UEFA Nations League, Italy, Bosnia, TV Schedules

Italy will kick off their new Nations League campaign with a home clash against an injury-ravaged Bosnia side. Live Soccer TV's match preview provides team news, match facts, and global broadcast listings for Italy vs. Bosnia.

Preview: Italy vs Bosnia

This will be the first competitive fixture for both Italy and Bosnia, but both teams will come into this game having concluded 2019 on very different notes. The Azzurri ended last year in excellent form, having won all ten of their EURO 2020 qualifying matches and capping things off by crushing minnows Armenia 9-1. Bosnia, by contrast, struggled through their qualifying group, which also included Italy, and despite picking up a 3-0 win over tiny Liechtenstein, they lost both home and away to Italy and as such, will be viewed as the underdogs in this contest when the two sides lock horns at the Stadio Artemio Franchi - best known to Serie A fans as Fiorentina's home base.

Given that the Netherlands, who finished as runners-up in the inaugural Nations League are also in Italy's quartet, Roberto Mancini's side will naturally want to kick things off by picking up all three points. Poland are the other team in this group, and it's important to note they did cause trouble for Italy during the first Nations League tournament by picking up a draw in Bologna and nearly shutting out Italy in Poland were it not for a late goal from the visitors. Furthermore, they do have Bayern ace Robert Lewandowski up front in attack who can cause plenty of trouble on his own, so Italy will be keen on making sure they commence proceedings in the right fashion.

It's set to be a very interesting battle up front, with Lazio's Ciro Immobile leading the line for the Azzurri following winning the Capocannoniere for the third time and surprising many observers by beating the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win the coveted European Golden Shoe. On the opposite end of the pitch, Bosnia will be heavily relying on Roma's veteran striker Edin Dzeko, who not only serves as the team's skipper, but is also his nation's most capped player and all-time top goal-scorer to help carry side in which will be an uphill battle for the visitors.

Head coach Dusan Bajevic's task has gotten much more difficult due to the absence of key midfielder Miralem Pjanic, as the Dragons don't have the best track record when it comes to facing Italy, with just one win from their prior three encounters against the Azzurri.

Team news: Italy vs Bosnia

Italy: Roberto Mancini is a bit light on options, particularly in midfield, ahead of this match. PSG's Marco Verratti is out following his exploits with Les Parisiens in the Champions League, and given that his club team made it to the final, he's been given extra time to rest. In addition, Inter's Nicolo Barella was part of the Nerazzurri side who went all the way to the Europa League final and thus will also need additional time to recover after a longer club season.

Meanwhile, both AC Milan's Sandro Tonali and Juve's Federico Bernadeschi are now out of the squad due to injuries. Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne is now the latest to join this list after he suffered an ankle injury.

Bosnia: Already the underdogs in this tie, the visitors have been hit with a major blow due to Miralem Pjanic testing positive for COVID-19. In addition to him having to sit this one out, they'll have to make do without Besim Serbecic, Rade Krunic, Miroslav Stevanovic, Darko Todorovic, and Stjepan Loncar as a result of various injury issues.

Match facts: Italy vs Bosnia

Italy won all ten of their last competitive international matches, while conceding just four goals
Meanwhile, Bosnia have won just four of their last ten competitive international fixtures (D1 L5)
They also scored just once in their two meetings with Italy, while conceding five goals