Mexico Vs. Italy: When And Where To Watch Confederations Cup Match; Preview [LIVE STREAM]

Mexico is looking for a win as it faces off against Italy in its first match of the 2013 Confederations Cup set to take place Sunday. Mexico has been stuck in a rut in recent games, drawing five out of six. Four of those ties were 0-0. Its last bout, against Costa Rica, resulted in angry fans tossing garbage onto the field and chanting for coach Jose de la Torre to be fired. Mexico secured the third place spot in its group, thus qualifying for the World Cup, but is looking to become a formidable squad.

Its opponent Italy is one of only four teams to play in more World Cups than Mexico. While Italy has shown some wear in recent games, star players like Andrea Pirlo will be ready to attack. In spite of some setbacks, Italy has been doing well and will give Mexico a difficult time if the squad cannot pull itself together.

When and Where to Watch Mexico vs. Italy

The faceoff between Mexico and Italy in their first 2013 Confederations Cup match will take place Sunday at 3 p.m. EST. ESPN will host a live stream at ESPN3.com, set to being promptly at 3 p.m. EST as well following a pre-game show. Fans may tune in to ESPN Network for televised coverage of the game.

Team preview - Mexico

Mexico's failings could spur De la Torre to change up his lineup. It is already expected the Giovani Dos Santos, who was benched until the 78 minute of the Mexico-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier, will replace striker Aldo De Nigris, putting the team in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Goal reported. Gerardo Torrado could be seen more often in the mix while Javier Aquino could replace Pablo Barrera.

De la Torre is under intense pressure to shake up the team and pull out victories. In spite of only losing seven of the 37 games he's coached, this setback, which put Mexico's contention for the World Cup into question, could spell the end of his coaching time with la seleccion Azteca if he cannot manage a stellar Confederations Cups showing. Mexico has only won the title once before.

Team preview - Italy

Cesare Prandelli isn't anticipating any problems quite as large as Mexico's, with his team securely in place to compete for the World Cup. Though the team lost the EuroCup in 2012, Prandelli and the team are expected to make a big showing as he brought a powerful team with him to Brazil. However, many of Italy's big players have been worn out after tiring seasons with their respective clubs.

The lack of energy in the Italian team showed in its two most recent games, notably that against the Czech Republic, in which the Azzuri could not score, resulting in a deadlock at 0-0. The team is entering the competition after having tied Haiti, 2-2, Tuesday, a bout that Prandelli called "embarassing." Still, its woes are not nearly as dire as Mexico's, with players like Pirlo primed to make a good showing.

Wrap-up

Mexico needs to find momentum in this game to get itself out of its scoreless slump. Anticipate changes to the lineup as De la Torre finds a way to revive his struggling team and saving his coaching career for El Tri. Changes in the lineup thus far, however, have fallen flat. A win is crucial for Mexico if it expects to recover any time soon from its disappointing matches.

Italy is somewhat suffering the same fate as Mexico as it tries to wake up an exhausted team. Italy is still in much better shape than Mexico and could keep pressure on the team struggling offensively. There is no clear victor at this stage in the game, so we could very well see yet another tie for both these teams.