Italy and Spain face off in the World Cup Qualifiers 2018 on Thursday.

The two sides are the favorites to win Group G of the World Cup qualifiers, but only one side will get the chance to represent its group automatically in the World Cup in 2018. The second place team will have to endure the challenge of the playoff late in 2017.

Spain enters this match in a very interesting situation. The team has not lost a World Cup qualifier since March 1993 when it was defeated by Denmark. Since then, the team has been unstoppable in this tournament.

But now the team, which won the showpiece in 2010, faces a team that completely destroyed it the last time they faced off. That match was the 2016 Euro tournament round of 16, a 2-1 win by Italy that could have ended with a more lop-sided scoreline if not for the heroics of David De Gea.

Both teams won their opening game of the qualifiers, with Spain putting an 8-0 scoreline on Liechtenstein. The winner of this game is likely to have the advantage on winning the group as the second game in Spain between these two is likely to be an all-out assault by the team behind, likely leading to tremendous exposure on the back end.

Prediction

This will be a hard fought duel with both teams knowing the stakes are as high as ever. That said, Italy will put on a winning performance for its fans, taking Spain down 1-0.

Start Time, Date, Location

Italy and Spain kick off at 2:45 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

Live Stream and TV Info

The match between Italy and Spain will be broadcast in the USA via ESPN Deportes and the ESPN3 App.