With just three months to go before the highly anticipated Brazilian World Cup, the world champions of the last two editions - Italy and Spain - clashed in a friendly game in Madrid, Spain.

The game ended with a 1-0 win for the hosts, despite a 70% ball possession that they could not convert into more goals. Other than the result, what did we learn from last night’s match?

Well, first of all that Spain is still the better side between the two. Last night the technical gap between the world champions and the Azzurri was at times even embarrassing, as the Spanish players constantly got the Italians drunk with their characteristic tiqui-taca style of play, while Prandelli’s men failed at both their prefixed goals: regaining the ball and counter-attacking.

However, most importantly we learned that last night’s game means nothing. Actually, it means less than nothing. Italy have a renowned allergy to friendlies. In their last 13 friendlies, the Italians could only beat San Marino, and couldn’t beat teams like - with all due respect - Haiti.

Italy clearly hid themselves, while keeping Andrea Pirlo on the bench for the first half (usually the most significant one during friendly games), excluding Daniele De Rossi for the so-called “ethical code” after his punch to Icardi cost him a three-game ban (Prandelli hasn’t always been so strict in its application in the past), and having to play without Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Balotelli due to injuries.

In the past few years Italy has been Spain’s toughest rival. The Azzurri were in la Roja’s way in their run for Euro 2008, Euro 2012 and for the Confederation’s Cup final last year in Brazil. True, Spain won all three games, but in two of those matchups they were forced to do so from the penalty spot, and the apparently lopsided 4-0 win in Euro 2012 came after Italy was forced to play down one man for most of the second half.

The truth is, Italy’s style of play fits well against Spain. Similarly to how Mourinho’s Inter beat Guardiola’s Barcelona in 2010, Italy can have a chance against Spain, as it had a chance back in 2008 and last year. Prandelli knows this, and that’s why he doesn’t mind if the press now considers his team too weak to compete for the final victory in Brazil. As he put it in the post-game press conference, "We may not be the best, but we still can beat the best."

If you add to last night’s team Chiellini, De Rossi, Pirlo, Balotelli and Giuseppe Rossi, you have five players that perfectly fit the game plan that Italy couldn’t convert to action at the Vicente Calderon: regaining the ball (Chiellini and De Rossi) and counter-attacking (Pirlo to Rossi and Balotelli).

What Prandelli could do instead, was evaluating Diego Costa’s impact on Spain. He definitely represents the biggest addition in International football, and with only two friendlies before the World Cup Del Bosque couldn’t hide his (potential) lethal weapon to his opponent.

It is too early to give a final sentence, but the impression is that he adds power and strength, but also predictability to Spain’s attack. He was often (and very effectively) stopped by Gabriel Paletta, and the risk is that he could be what Ibrahimović was to Barcelona a few years ago: an extraordinary soloist joining a perfectly calibrated choir. Something that most fans around the World are hoping right now…