Italy takes on Haiti in the team's final tune-up match before the Confederations Cup. The Azzurri are currently on track to earn a spot in next year's World Cup, so the extra matches in Brazil will help the squad get accustomed to the surroundings.
They are coming off an acceptable, albeit frustrating, draw with the Czech Republic in qualifying. Italy remains atop UEFA Group B with four matches left to play. They can't afford to overlook Haiti as Spain appeared to do over the weekend.
The defending World Cup champions were expected to cruise past the Grenadiers. Instead, Haiti held tough against a very strong Spanish squad and lost by just a single goal, 2-1. Italy should be seeking a far more comfortable result.
Let's take a glance at all the key information for the friendly match, followed by some players to watch and a prediction.
Where: Estadio Sao Januario in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
When: Tuesday, June 11 at 2:45 p.m. ET
Watch: GMM Sport One
Live Stream: GMMSport.com
Haiti Player to Watch: Donald Guerrier Wilde
No matter what happens throughout the rest of Wilde's football career, he can always say he scored a goal against Spain. An impressive one at that, carving through the normally stout La Roja defense and making a nice move to beat goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
The 24-year-old defender plays for the Haitian side America des Cayes. As you would expect, playing against the Spanish national team is an enormous step up in the level of competition, but he handled it well. Not only scoring the goal, but being a part of a defense that allowed just two goals.
Haiti is going to need a similar showing from him to keep pace with Italy. The Azzurri should take the challenge far more seriously after seeing the Spain result, which means they will be paying close attention to Wilde any time the left-back moves forward.
Italy Player to Watch: Stephan El Shaarawy
For Italy to have success both in the Confederations Cup and moving forward toward next year's World Cup, El Shaarawy must develop into a reliable international goal scorer. So far, he's found the net once in seven appearances for the Azzurri.
The 20-year-old striker is coming off a breakout season with AC Milan. He scored 18 goals and chipped in six assists across Serie A and Champions League play. It was the first true sign of him turning the immense raw potential into actual production.
Elsewhere for Italy, Mario Balotelli is frustratingly unpredictable and the rest of the attacking core (Andrea Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi and Alberto Gilardino) is beginning to age. So it's time for El Shaarawy to step up just like he did for Milan.
Matchup to Watch: Haiti defense vs. Italy attack
Again, Haiti deserves a lot of credit for its defensive showing against Spain. The Grenadiers gave up two goals in the first 20 minutes and then held an incredibly deep La Roja side scoreless for the final 70 and scored a goal of their own to boot.
They face another difficult challenge in the Italians, who will be looking for a convincing result to provide some momentum for the Confederations Cup. The struggles Spain endured will also be a warning sign for the Azzurri.
An appearance from Pirlo would mark his milestone 100th with the national team. But the onus still falls on El Shaarawy to lead the attack during his time on the pitch. The more he shows, the more confident Italy should be heading into the tournament over the weekend.
Prediction
Italy 3, Haiti 0