Italy vs Venezuela
After successfully qualifying for Euro 2024 last November, Italy will prepare for their title defence by playing a couple of International Friendly games before the festivities in Germany start in June.
First up for the defending Euro champions are Venezuela, who are also preparing for their own continental tournament, the Copa America. And this game between them is scheduled for Thursday evening at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Since this is an exhibition game, expect both nations to experiment with their lineups, which means more playing time for some of their younger talents or uncapped players.
And while this game has no bearing for Italy or Venezuela, it might not feel like it since both are expected to create new International Friendly 2024 highlights.
Talking Points
Italy go for young bloods
Luciano Spalletti has new players during this international break, and it’s likely that we will see them in action against Venezuela or Ecuador.
Torino right-back Raoul Bellanova, Hellas Verona attacking midfielder Michael Folorunsho, and Udinese forward Lorenzo Lucca are the new call-ups, while Atalanta and Tottenham goalies Marco Carnesecchi and Guglielmo Vicario were also included in the squad, although they have yet to make an appearance.
Meanwhile, several notable absentees include Ciro Immobile, Domenico Berardi, Gianluca Scamacca, Bryan Cristante, and Francesco Acerbi, who was just removed from the squad due to allegations of racism.
So, believe it or not, Gianluigi Donnarumma, 25, is now the most experienced team member this week, with 60 caps, while centre-back Giorgio Scalvini is the youngest team member at 20 years old.
Italy’s frontline is loaded with speedy forwards, with Federico Chiesa being the most established member, with seven goals in 44 caps.
But Mateo Retegui stands to be the x-factor for Gli Azzurri since he will look to find the back of the net anew after scoring two goals in two games against England and Malta just a year ago in the Euro qualifiers.
Venezuela to miss key midfield duo
Venezuela are going to be short in the middle of the park since Yeferson Soteldo and Yangel Herrera are both unavailable this week, so team captain Tomas Rincon is going to be a busy man as he makes his country-leading 131st cap on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Salomon Rondon and Darwin Machis are both available to lead the line of attack for La Vinotinto. Rondon is the nation’s all-time leading scorer with 41 goals, while Machis has 10 goals and can move to joint-sixth place if he scores against Italy.
Rondon is going to be the target man for La Vinotinto because he has scored 10 goals in 14 games for Pachuca this season.
Philadelphia Union duo Jose Martinez and Jesus Bueno have both been selected to play for Venezuela too this week, with the latter hoping to make his senior debut soon.
History
There have been no notable matchups between Italy and Venezuela prior to Thursday.
Under Luciano Spalletti, who was appointed as their new manager on August 2023, Gli Azzurri have only suffered one loss across all competitions (W3, D2), which was a 3-1 result against England during the group stage.
However, they bounced back by beating North Macedonia 5-2 before they were held to a goalless draw against Ukraine. Despite being level at points with Ukraine, Italy claimed the second Euro 2024 spot in Group C after England.
Venezuela, meanwhile, were on a five-game unbeaten run (W2, D3) before losing in a friendly to Colombia last December. During that stretch, they managed to secure a huge 1-1 draw against Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers.
Overall, Venezuela have only lost twice in the last 14 matches.
La Vinotinto are currently fourth in the CONMEBOL table, putting them on course to qualify for the World Cup for the first time ever.
Betting Tip
The International Friendly 2024 odds have Italy as the favourites to win in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Gli Azzurri are 1.40 favourites, while Venezuela are 6.00 underdogs, and a draw is at 3.81 in the 1X2 market.
With younger legs from both sides, SBOTOP football fans might be in for a back-and-forth affair, although Italy should score more goals, making bets like Total Goals 2-3 at 1.92, Total Goals 4-6 at 3.37, and Over 2.50 at 1.95 worth considering.
But if you fancy Venezuela’s chances to win, then check out Correct Scores of 1-0 or 2-0 in their favour because they’re pegged highly at 16.00 and 50.00, respectively. Meanwhile, a goalless draw (Correct Score of 0-0) is also priced high at 10.50.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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