World powerhouse Italy and minnows Luxembourg meet in a friendly on Tuesday, the first match between the countries since 1981.
The two nations have faced off on six previous occasions, all in World Cup qualifiers, during which the Italians scored 19 goals while conceding just one.
Italian
coach Cesare Prandelli has named five uncapped players in his
provisional 32-man squad for Euro 2012 and is expected to announce his
final 23 on May 29.
Mattia Destro (Siena), Emanuele Giaccherini
(Juventus), Ezequiel Schelotto (Atalanta), Luca Cigarini (Atalanta) and
Marco Verratti (Pescara) have never represented the Azzurri at senior
level.
Verratti, who secured promotion to the Serie A next season with Pescara, joins Angelo Ogbonna (Torino) as the only other second division player.
Prandelli
has also included strikers Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano, while
handing Salvatore Bocchetti a first call-up under his stewardship.
Balotelli
returns to the squad after being left out of a friendly against the
United States in February following a four-game suspension he received
for stomping on Tottenham’s Scott Parker in January
Prandelli will
use friendlies with Luxembourg and Russia on June 2 to fine-tune the
Italians’ game plan ahead of Euro 2012 matches against holders Spain,
Republic of Ireland and Croatia.
Luxembourg, who defeated Macedonia FYR 2-1 in their most recent match, will be looking to keep the score respectable.
Ranked
119th in the world, Luxembourg are likely to hand 17-year-old Chris
Philipps just his second cap, while Maurice Deville, who is based at
German club SV Elversberg, is expected to make his third appearance.
Deville,
a 19-year-old striker, has scored twice in two appearances, with both
goals coming in Luxembourg’s 2-1 win over Macedonia at the Josy Barthel
Stadium.
Meanwhile, midfielder Rene Peters will equal Carlo Weis’ record of most appearances (87) for the national team.
Peters,
a 30-year-old midfielder from local club Jeunesse Esch, has played 86
times for Luxembourg and could break the record against Malta next
month.
Parma’s Stadio Ennio Tardini will host the match.
