(Getty)
UEFA powers Italy and Spain face off on Thursday, with the winner taking control of Group G in UEFA qualifying.
It won’t take much to advance out of the group, as Spain and Italy would have to face major upsets to put their trip to Russia in 2018 in jeopardy. Italy and Spain are grouped with Israel, Macedonia, Albania and Liechtenstein.
Italy were the victors when these teams met at EURO 2016, as they cruised to a 2-0 victory. The Azzurri are now without manager Antonio Conte, and a win over Spain would be huge for new manager Giampiero Ventura.
Ventura’s biggest challenge is in his own goal, where he will have to decide when to move on from legendary keeper Gianluigi Buffon. The expectations are the manager will eventually switch to Gianluigi Donnarumma, the teenager who currently starts for AC Milan.
Here are the basics:
DATE: October 6, 2016
CHANNEL: Fox Sports One
KICKOFF TIME: 2:30 p.m. Eastern
LOCATION: Juventus Stadium
LIVE STREAM: Click here for all the live stream information
THE LINEUPS
Italy: Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Romagnoli, Florenzi, Parolo, De Rossi, Montolivo, De Sciglio, Eder, Pelle
Spain: De Gea, Carvajal, Ramos, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Koke, Iniesta, Vitolo, Silva, Costa
