Confederations Cup 2013 | Spain v Italy June 27, 2013

Confederations Cup 2013 | Spain v Italy June 27, 2013

Confederations Cup 2013 | Spain v Italy June 27, 2013

In the second match of the 2013 Confederations Cup semifinals, Italy will face world No. 1 Spain on Thursday in Fortaleza for the right to advance to the final.

Both teams come into the match with injuries, but each is hoping its players will step up on the pitch in Brazil. Spain placed third in the 2009 Confederations Cup, while this is Italy's first trip to the semifinals. Let's take a look at the keys to Thursday's match.

Confederations Cup 2013 | Spain v Italy June 27, 2013

Confederations Cup 2013 | Spain v Italy June 27, 2013

Both Italy and Spain will be without several key players in Thursday's clash. For Italy, top forward Mario Balotelli and defender Ignazio Abate have both been ruled out, per FIFA.com. For Spain, midfielder Cesc Fabregas and striker Roberto Soldado have been ruled out. There are also question marks surrounding Italy's Andrea Pirlo (calf) and Riccardo Montolivo, per the report.

Confederations Cup 2013 | Spain v Italy June 27, 2013

Italy headed into the 2013 Confederations Cup with a 4-3-2-1 formation, aimed at directing the attack through Balotelli.

But, after Balotelli's injury, coach Cesare Prandelli could go with a 3-5-2 formation, slotting Alberto Gilardino into Balotelli's place, according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, via FIFA.com. Stephan El Shaarawy or Sebastian Giovinco will reportedly be the option alongside Gilardino. Giovinco scored the game-winner against Japan in the group stage. El Shaarawy has played one game for Italy in the tournament, registering one shot (zero on goal). As for Spain, Fabregas has played in three games in the tournament (two starts), notching an assist. Soldado has two starts, registering one goal on four shots on goal.

Confederations Cup 2013 | Spain v Italy June 27, 2013

Balotelli's absence may hurt Italy more. He had registered a team-high two goals in the tournament before going down to injury, ranking fourth in the Castrol Index Top 10. Italy was able to allow just one goal against disappointing Mexico in the group stage, but also allowed three goals to Japan and four goals to Brazil. A lot of the emphasis has been on Balotelli's absence, but the Italian defense may actually be the more important factor in Thursday's clash. After all, Spain has scored a tournament-best 15 goals already, with the scoring coming from various players, including Fernando Torres, who boasts five goals in the Confederations Cup this year. Going up against the world No. 1 is enough of a challenge for Italy, especially without Balotelli.

 The Italians must capitalize on their scoring opportunities, and there aren't likely to be many. They don't want to be overly aggressive, considering Spain's ability to score in a heartbeat off a defensive stop, but they do want to be on point early.In the 4-2 defeat to Brazil in the group stage, Brazil's Dante scored in first-half stoppage time, giving the Brazilians a 1-0 lead headed into the second half. That may have been just one goal, but it gave the Brazilians a psychological advantage early on. If Italy scores first on Thursday, perhaps the side can take away some of Spain's thunder.

Watch Nigeria vs Spain Live Confederations Cup June 23, 2013

Nigeria vs Spain Live Stream

World champion Spain looks to seal last-four berth. Spain needs just one point from their final group match to guarantee progress to the semi-finals, while Nigeria must equal or better Uruguay's result against Tahiti.

Nigeria midfielder Ogenyi Onazi will not be involved in Sunday's clash against Spain in Fortaleza because of a knee injury.

Coach Stephen Keshi confirmed this week that the player will stay back in Nigeria for treatment after expressing optimisim that he could be fit in time to play in the tournament.

Winger Nnamdi Oduamadi is a doubt after picking up a knock in the defeat against Uruguay, while striker Ideye Brown could maintain his place in the starting 11.

Spain are expected to recall several of their key players after displaying a wonderful success against Tahiti. Spain vs Tahiti Match Report

Confederations Cup: Spain vs Tahiti 10-0

In a one-sided match at the Confederations Cup, World Cup winner Spain routed the Pacific islanders from Tahiti 10-0 on Thursday - a result that wasn't as bad as some had suggested beforehand.

Tahiti coach Eddy Etaeta said he feared Spain might get as many as 20 goals.

Still, the winning margin was the largest in a Confederations Cup match. The previous record margin for the World Cup test-run tournament was six, when Brazil beat Saudi Arabia 8-2 in 1999 and when Brazil beat Australia 6-0 in 1997.

Fernando Torres, who missed a penalty late in the match, scored four goals. David Villa added three goals, David Silva two and Juan Mata one.

Tahiti was the crowd favorite at the Maracana stadium with Brazilians wildly cheering the underdogs and jeering Spain. When Spanish midfielder Mata tried to score with a bicycle kick with the score at 4-0, the effort was met with loud booing.

Torres' miss from a penalty late also drew wild cheers. The ball bounded off the crossbar and Tahiti keeper Mikael Roche raised his hands in celebration - as if he'd stopped it.

The match had the tone of a practice game - or an exhibition. Even before it began, the outcome was never in doubt.

The spirit was set by Tahiti coach Eddy Etaeta, who put a flower lei around the neck of Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque. Etaeta, who called playing Spain a ''Christmas present,'' warned before the match that Spain might score 15 or 20 goals.

Tahitian players also draped trinkets around the neck of the Spanish players just before the start, another gesture of friendship and respect.

Tahiti attacked from the start and was just 1-0 down after 15 minutes, making light of the gulf between the world champions and a team made up of amateurs who hold down day jobs. But that did not last long, with Spain leading 4-0 at the break.

The match was lopsided, but there have been worse.

The Tahitians tired in the second half and only found their way into the Spanish half a handful of times. Spain added six and could easily have added plenty more. Despite letting in 10, Roche made several fine saves to the joy of the Brazilian crowd.

The match was lopsided, but there have been worse. The largest margin of victory in a FIFA match came in 2001, when Australia beat American Samoa 31-0 in Oceania qualifying for the World Cup.

In the World Cup, the record is nine, set three times. Hungary beat South Korea 9-0 in 1954, Yugoslavia routed Zaire 9-0 in 1974 and Hungary defeated El Salvador 10-1 in 1982. The biggest rout in soccer history happened in 2002 when Stade Olympique de l'Emyrne scored 149 own-goals in a match against AS Adema in Madagascar in protest of what it claimed was partial refereeing.