Italy vs. Nigeria Live Stream, Score, Preview, Predictions, Schedule: International Friendly 2013
Nigeria and Italy will face off in an international friendly on Monday.
Nigeria recently qualified for the World Cup after taking down Ethiopia at home by the score of 2-0; the win gave the team a 4-1 aggregate victory.
Now Nigeria will get to test itself against one of the tournament's top contenders. The Italians qualified for the tournament last month and are coming off a 1-1 draw with Germany in a friendly on Friday.
One of the interesting stories surrounding the Azzurri is their situation at the center forward position. Mario Balotelli is currently the favorite of Coach Cesare Prandelli, but Giuseppe Rossi has shown that he is capable of usurping the role of partnering with the mercurial forward to create one of the most lethal tandems in the world.
"Balotelli is the first-choice centre-forward," said Prandelli according to Goal.com. "Now we have to find out who the ideal second striker will be and Rossi is ready for this game.
"I have some pretty clear ideas on certain systems and combinations we can use, even if we have yet to establish which is the best one for us."
Italy is also coming off draws against Armenia and Denmark in the World Cup qualifiers.
Prediction: Italy is the favorite in this match but has recently struggled to find a consistent form. Nigeria is still on a high after eliminating Ethiopia and could look to set the tone for its World Cup preparations by taking down the Italians. Expect a 1-1 draw.
Start Time: 2:45 p.m. EST