Italy survived a late scare to snatch a 1-1 friendly draw at home to Germany on Friday when Ignazio Abate's maiden Azzurri goal cancelled out Mats Hummels' early opener at the San Siro.

Italy were dominated early on and paid the price when Hummels' header went past Gianluigi Buffon in the Italy goal before bouncing off the post and into the net for an eighth minute opener.

However Cesare Prandelli's men, looking to protect an unbeaten record against Joachim Loew's side that stretched back to 1995, were back on level terms thanks to Abate's well-worked equaliser just before the half hour.

Italy's defensive lapses, especially at set-pieces, were plain to see but the hosts made amends by finding the rhythm that was sorely lacking early in the first half following the half-time interval.

But the final 10 minutes of the match were tense, following an ugly exchange between Toni Kroos and Thiago Motta, who was lucky not to see red after poking Kroos in the eye with his finger, which led to both players receiving cautions.

And the hosts, who qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with two games to spare, were thanking their lucky stars after Marco Reus and Lars Bender both scuffed at the ball in front of a virtually empty net after Benedikt Hoewedes's shot came off beaten Buffon's upright.

"It was a good game for us but we got sucked in by their passing," Prandelli told Rai television after the game.

"They played without strikers so it took us a little time to adapt.

"We were up against one of the strongest sides in the world, but people are mistaken if they think we dominated one of the world's best teams. We didn't.

"But we came back into it and played some good football. This is the way we have to go forward."

Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi was missing due to illness meaning Southampton's Dani Osvaldo partnered Mario Balotelli up front, while Loew marked his 100th game in charge without Mario Gomez, Miroslav Klose and Per Mertesacker, with Arsenal's Mesut Ozil starting on the bench.

Balotelli, who had scored a brace against Germany in the Euro 2012 semi-final, fired over in the first minute and then Andrea Pirlo drove a free kick over the crossbar.

However Germany capitalised on their first chance when Hummels rose above the Italian defence to meet a corner and see his effort ricochet off the inside of the far post.

Germany spurned further chances through Hoewedes and Sami Khedira, whose long-range snapshot smacked the upright and bounced off Buffon's head.

Italy's equaliser came as something of a surprise, but was well deserved.

Abate intercepted a Hummels clearance and after a one-two with Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci the AC Milan defender fired a precise angled drive past Manuel Neuer at his far post.

Prandelli made a tactical switch by replacing Osvaldo during the second half with attacking midfielder Antonio Candreva, leaving Balotelli as the lone striker.

The AC Milan striker is enduring a tough spell at his struggling Serie A side and despite failing to hit a winner he received a word of support from Prandelli: "Mario did well. He should be happy, relaxed and not get irritated by things."