England vs. Italy: Date, Time, Stream, TV Info and Preview for Euro U-21 Match

Group A of the 2013 Euro Under-21 Tournament kicks off on Wednesday with what should be its most intriguing matchup: England vs. Italy.

The U-21 tournament is a great opportunity to see some of the most promising young talent in the world. Some players are already stars in their respective leagues, but there are plenty who will be looking to make an impression with this event.

In England and Italy, you've got the two biggest countries of their group, which also features hosts Israel and Noway. If you're going to watch one match from Group A, this should be it.

Here's a full preview with everything you need to know for this Group A fixture.

When: Wednesday, June 5 at 2:15 p.m. ET

Where: Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel

Watch: ESPNU

Live Stream: ESPN3

What's at Stake

Italy has won more Euro U-21 championships than any other country. Their five wins is almost twice as much as second-place Spain. England is not far behind with two.

The Italians have had much more recent success, though, last winning the competition in 2004. England's last title came back in 1984, when they repeated as champions.

There's no doubt that senior national team managers Roy Hodgson and Cesare Prandelli will be looking at this match. England and Italy are looking to move on from their golden generations. The players in the respective squads will be a part of that process.

It's going to be important for both teams to try to register a win in this first match. Getting those three early points really puts you in the driver's seat for the rest of the group and almost assures that you'll be through to the knockout stages.

England Player to Watch: Wilfried Zaha

Wilfried Zaha was electrifying for Crystal Palace in the Championship this season. He finished with six goals and 10 assists, adding two goals and an assists in the promotion playoffs. Without Zaha, Palace would not have come close to gaining promotion.

Despite being just 20 years old, Sir Alex Ferguson was willing to pay around £15 million for the winger. That's quite a strong endorsement of Zaha's talent.

Next year will be Zaha's first at Manchester United, so if you didn't watch a lot of Championship football, this is a great time to see exactly what kind of player the Red Devils will be adding his summer.

The Independent's Steve Tongue reported the winger might not be healthy against Italy, but Stuart Pearce seems to be in doubt as to whether Zaha will be ready (h/t the Football Association's Twitter account):

England would be in trouble if they couldn't call upon Zaha in this fixture.

Italy Player to Watch: Lorenzo Insigne

Lorenzo Insigne had a dazzling debut season in Serie A. He had made an appearance in the league prior to this year, but Insigne had mostly spent his time in the lower leagues before becoming a part of the Napoli first team.

With Goran Pandev and Edinson Cavani up top for the club, it was hard for Insigne to get a ton of starts, but he did manage to make 16, coming off the bench on 21 occasions. During his 37 league matches the 22-year-old striker scored five goals and assisted on another seven.

Insigne is one of the players who's bound to break out as a result of this tournament. Followers of Serie A will be able to attest to his talent, but those outside have yet to get an impression of the kind of talent he possesses.

Prediction

It's hard to look past the Italians for this one. They've got such a wealth of attackers to work with. Along with Insigne, Italy has Ciro Immobile, Mattia Destro and Fabio Borini to line up at the top of the attack. Then in the midfield, there's Marco Verratti, who's already been called the next Andrea Pirlo.

Meanwhile, on the England side, these tournaments are generally stuck with players who couldn't find a reason to skip out on the tournament. Pearce is already without Raheem Sterling and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Jack Butland built himself a nice reputation as a result of his performance at the 2012 Olympics, and he'll need a similar performance if England are to progress at the U-21 Euros.

Despite Butland's best efforts, Italy should find enough to walk away with the points.