European champions Italy meet their South American counterparts at Wembley in June. Will Argentina continue a winning streak against the Azzurri?
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European champions Italy meet South American counterparts Italy in La Finalissima, a battle of the world's footballing superpowers.
Ahead of the showpiece game at Wembley on 1 June, we focus on the key stories.
What is the Finalissima?
The fixture pits the champions of Europe against their South American counterparts, in a showdown agreed after Uefa and CONMEBOL signed a renewed and extended Memorandum of Understanding on 15 December 2021.
The Finalissima will be a one-off fixture played over 90 minutes. There is no extra time, so if the tie is level at the end of regulation time, it will go straight to penalties. The referee appointment will be made jointly by the two confederations.
Europa v South America: Which is the top footballing continent?
The stats are unambiguous when it comes to which are the most successful footballing continents on the planet; since the Fifa World Cup was first contested in 1930, every single finalist has been either European or South American.
Of the 21 winners so far, 12 have been from Europe (Germany/West Germany 4, Italy 4, France 2, England 1, Spain 1) compared to nine from South America (Brazil 5, Argentina 2, Uruguay 2).
A previous attempt to have a formal game between the European and South American champions resulted in the Artemio Franchi Cup. It was first contested in 1985, with France beating Uruguay 2-0 in Paris, but the second (and final) edition did not take place until eight years later, Argentina beating Denmark 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on home turf at Mar del Plata.
It's all square coming into the Finalissima. Game on.
Italy and Argentina: Relative strengths and weaknesses
In past decades, Italy and Argentina's national teams have had a similar iron reputation: stylish going forward, brutally effective at the back. There has certainly been little to choose between the sides in their 15 past meetings, with Italy just edging the head-to-head record: W6 D5 L4.
However, Argentina have had much the better of recent encounters; since a 3-1 friendly loss to Italy in 1987, they are unbeaten in five games against the Azzurri and have won all three of the nations' 21st-century meetings. The most recent of those was a 2-0 friendly win at the City of Manchester Stadium in March 2018. Will Italy's barren run continue in London?
Can the Azzurri rediscover the spirit of Uefa EURO 2020 at Wembley?
Roberto Mancini's side charmed the world at the Uefa European Championship in England, Chelsea midfielder Jorginho pulling the strings as their youthful side ground out results in the knockout phase, notably beating Spain on penalties in the semifinals and then the hosts by the same means at Wembley in the decider.
However, their achievements were somewhat undermined by a miserable end to their World Cup qualifying campaign, a 1-0 defeat against North Macedonia in the play-off semifinals denying them a place in this year's tournament in Qatar. "[Winning Uefa EURO 2020] was the best thing I experienced at professional level," said Mancini afterwards. "This is the biggest disappointment." Will a return to the scene of that triumph restore Italy's mojo?