Confirmed: U.S. Will Play Italy in February January 9, 2012, 11:03 pm U.S. Soccer on Monday confirmed the worst-kept secret about its national team, announcing that the United States would play Italy in Genoa on Feb. 29. That is the last official FIFA match date for friendlies before June, when the Americans start World Cup qualifying and the Italians begin play in the European championship. "We are slowly trying to raise the bar for our team," United States Coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in a statement released by the federation. And this is an awesome opportunity for the players to be challenged against one of the top teams in the world. The Italy game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 2:45 p.m. The Americans are training in Phoenix for friendlies against Venezuela (Jan. 21) and at Panama (Jan. 25) later this month. Here is the most current U.S. schedule: Exhibitions Saturday, Jan. 21: vs. Venezuela at Glendale, Ariz., 9 p.m. (ESPN3, Galavision) Wednesday, Jan. 25: vs. Panama at Panama City, 8:30 p.m. (Galavision) Wednesday, Feb. 29: vs. Italy at Genoa, Italy, 2:45 p.m. World Cup Qualifying, Semifinal Round Friday, June 8: vs. Antigua and Barbuda at U.S. site TBA Tuesday, June 12: at Guatemala Friday, Sept. 7: at Jamaica Tuesday, Sept. 11: vs. Jamaica at U.S. site TBA Friday, Oct. 12: at Antigua and Barbuda Tuesday, Oct. 16: vs. Guatemala at U.S. site TBA