Italy vs. Portugal: Date, Time, Live Stream and 2015 Friendly Preview
Italy take on Portugal in a mouthwatering international friendly on Tuesday night.
Italy are coming into the game on the back of a 1-1 behind-closed-doors draw with Croatia in the race to qualify for Euro 2016.
Portugal, meanwhile, came from behind to beat Armenia 3-2 in a thrilling encounter, thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick.
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Date: Tuesday, June 16
Time: 7:30 p.m. BST; 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: beIN Sports
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect
Portugal have never beaten Italy in five attempts, their most recent clash ending 3-1 in the Italians' favour back in 2008.
On current form, however, that could well change on Tuesday.
Ronaldo was electric against Armenia, and in such marvellous form the FIFA Ballon d'Or winner will be difficult to stop.
The 30-year-old whipped up a frenzy on social media as he showed off his considerable skills:
Ronaldo opened his account with a penalty in the first half, before adding a second in the 55th minute. Three minutes later, he sealed his hat-trick with this stunning long-range effort:
It was the third consecutive match that Ronaldo has scored three goals and his ninth treble of the season, having finished Real Madrid's league campaign with hat-tricks against Espanyol and Getafe.
Italy's draw was not quite so eventful, save for Mario Mandzukic's efforts in putting Croatia ahead before handling in the box to give away a penalty that Antonio Candreva duly tucked home.
The Azzurri will be without a number of important players for the friendly because of injuries.
The Associated Press (via the Daily Mail) reports that Marco Verratti, Andrea Barzagli and Simone Zaza were all forced out of the squad, while, according to Jack Davies of Goal.com, Daniele De Rossi and Gianluigi Buffon have also had to withdraw.
Buffon was substituted after a collision with Mandzukic left him needing 10 stitches in his knee, while a lingering knee injury will prevent De Rossi from appearing. Lorenzo De Silvestri will also be out for between six and eight months after suffering a severe knee injury.
The injuries forced manager Antonio Conte to change formation from a 3-5-2 to a 4-3-3 and was pleased with his side's performance in the new system.
Per the aforementioned report from the Associated Press, Conte told Italy's official website: "The 4-3-3 allows us to exploit space out wide with the best wingers that the Serie A currently has to offer. We had a well-defined style of play, and although we can still revert to the old formation, I think this one will be a success in the future."
Nevertheless, the sheer number of missing players will likely give Portugal the edge.
Italy have won just once and drawn four of their last five matches, while the Seleccao have won four of their last five.
With Ronaldo and his side in such good form, they can overcome the injury-hit Italians on Tuesday.
Ronaldo will as always be key to Portugal's ambitions, so expect him to be at the heart of everything they do. Portugal's long wait for a maiden victory over Italy has an excellent chance of coming to an end.
Prediction: Italy 1-2 Portugal
