Confederations Cup preview: United States – Italy

The match between the United States and Italy will attract the attention of many at this Confederations Cup. Although the Italians are clear favorites to win, the US should never be underestimated either.

Bob Bradley USA side includes several well known names, such as keeper Tim Howard and the experienced Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. Freddy Adu, the now 20-year-old prodigy, earned an invitation as well.

The oldest US player, Howard, is currently 30 years old which shows that Bradley opted to work with mostly younger players.

World champions Italy had some difficulties in a friendly with New Zealand last week but did eventually win 4-3. A win over the USA will be necessary to restore confidence after their mid-week struggle.

The squad certainly shouldn’t be a problem, with world class players such as Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Luca toni and Andrea Pirlo. Also included is 18-year-old defender Davide Santon, who hopes to get the chance to show his skills at this level.

These two sides most recently met at the 2006 world Cup, where three red cards -one to Italy, two to USA- dominated the eventual result, 1-1.

The match will be played at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld Stadium and starts at 8:30pm local time.