As each of the 32 teams in the World Cup field continue to prepare for soccer’s biggest event, global clubs from Spain and Italy hope to improve during a scheduled international friendly between the last two teams to claim top honor in the sport. While the Spanish National side certainly possess strong talent, the highly anticipated debut of Diego Costa -- who previously played national soccer with his native Brazil -- should only add to the overall capability of a team hoping to recapture World Cup glory following a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands at the 2010 South Africa games.
“I never imagined it,” Costa said recently regarding the idea of switching from Brazil to Spain. “When I heard there was interest from Spain I began to imagine things, to think: ‘Why not?’ It was a privilege that the world champions want you, a privilege to be able to help the great players they have. I felt very important. I valued it a lot. [Coach] Vicente del Bosque has shown me the type of person he is. I like to speak with people face to face, to feel what is true and what is a lie, and Vicente was very clear. He did not promise me anything. I do not like getting promises from people -- I like to win them over.”
While Costa prepares for his debut match with Spain, recent Manchester United addition Juan Mata and Chelsea star Fernando Torres will not make an appearance for the defending World Cup champions. Hoping to come out on top in a rematch of the Euro 2012 final, Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque understands that winning this type of game -- even if it is just a friendly -- could go a long way in helping Spain build a stronger level of confidence for the June tournament. Player evaluation will also be a big part of the match with Italy as well.
“There are more than two important players who are left out,” Del Bosque said. “But this list is just for Italy. There is time in front of us, three months of competition, and many things could happen that ratify this list or make us bring others. They are one of the world’s big national teams. They have Juventus as a base, and are playing very strong games, like the first game of Euro 2012, the two from the Confederations Cup, one of them agonizing with extra-time when they were just as strong as we were. And the final [of Euro 2012], which was for sure our best game of recent years.”
Spain vs. Italy: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO
DATE: Wednesday, March 5
TIME: 4 p.m., ET
TV COVERAGE: ESPN2 / ESPN Deportes
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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