Fernando Torres is confident Spain will triumph against Italy even though he considers the reigning world champion the favorite heading into Sunday's European Championship quarterfinal.
"I think on paper they are they favorites but we don't have any fear and we're not scared by the record of Italy or any of its players," the striker said Friday. "We are aware of the options we have and we're going to win the match."
Although both teams are usually considered title contenders ahead of every major championship, Italy has a much better record, with four World Cups and one European Championship.
Spain's only major trophy is the 1964 European Championship.
"It's a team that you have to respect and you have to respect each one of their players," said Torres, who scored Spain's first goal in a 2-1 win over Sweden in Group D.
"With the record they have ... they are the favorites. Maybe they didn't have a brilliant group stage but they didn't either in the (2006) World Cup and they ended up winning it," the Liverpool player added.
Spain won a March friendly against Italy 1-0, but the two teams haven't played a competitive match since the 1994 World Cup in the United States, when Italy sent Spain home with a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals.
"This group has shown it can play against any team," Torres said.
"We have already played and won against Italy. It was a friendly, but now we have the opportunity to do the same in a competitive match.
"It will be a test for all of us but we are convinced that we are going to advance."
Spain comes into Sunday's clash in Vienna emboldened by nine consecutive wins, including its three Group D matches, and a 19- match unbeaten streak.
However, that stretch will be irrelevant if they can't break that famous Spanish curse of not getting past the quarterfinals in major tournaments.
In the 2006 World Cup, a Spanish team brimming with confidence cruised through the group stage with three solid wins only to be sent home by France in the first round of the knockout stage.
"The beginning of the European Championship is now," Torres said, adding that there was no room to have a bad day.
"It's the most important game for each player in this team and for the country," he said.
"Every fan is excited and the players are excited as well. We know it's very important for Spanish history and for us." (****)
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