Brazil to play Italy in friendly in March

Robinho and Andrea Dossena battle for the ball in the last Brazil-Italy match in 2009.

Getty Images

GENEVA (AP) -- World Cup host Brazil will play Italy in a friendly in Switzerland next year ahead of the teams' Confederations Cup match in June.

Hugh Quennec, president of Swiss club Servette, tells The Associated Press the friendly is scheduled for March 21 at his club's 30,000-capacity Stade de Geneve home.

Brazil and Italy will also meet June 22 in Salvador in a group match at the World Cup warm-up tournament.

The countries last faced each other at the 2009 Confederations Cup in Pretoria, South Africa. Brazil won 3-0.

Brazil, which has dropped to No. 18 in the FIFA rankings, next plays Feb. 6 against England in a friendly at Wembley Stadium.

The Brazil-Italy match is organized by Quennec's Geneve Sport agency and the Brazilian football association's London-based commercial partner Pitch International.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.