Euro2008: Italy Will Provide Spain's Real Test

Italy's survival instincts served them well as they scrambled into the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 at the expense of a dreadful France team that must now be dismantled. They have not looked like world champions as they navigated the time-honoured "group of death" to secure a last eight meeting with Spain.

Spain have looked as impressive as anyone in the tournament, but would you bet with confidence against Italy beating a team whose collective nerve has failed under pressure on the big occasion before?

Take the World Cup in 2006 - Italy started slowly and grew, whereas Spain started fast and failed when it mattered. Italy may be stripped of their influential midfielders Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo through suspension, but if Spain have finally found the bottle to make an impact on a major tournament, they must show it against Roberto Donadoni's side.

They must hope Italy's strikers continue to misfire, with Luca Toni's finishing a glaring weakness - although his track record ominously suggests that won't last forever. Spain, fuelled by the magnificent front pairing of Fernando Torres and David Villa, have all the weapons to take advantage of an Italian defence that is vulnerable without the talismanic Fabio Cannavaro.

The question is can they summon up the self-belief? No-one has ever doubted Spain's ability, just their stomach for the fight when the chips were down. True, they look the real deal this time - but we have all thought that before until our suspicions about their ability to get results at the business end of a competition were confirmed.

I still have my doubts about Spain. They did not look quite as impressive when pressed by an average Sweden side and were lucky to be bailed out by Villa's last-minute winner.