Italy belief buoys Ambrosini

Massimo Ambrosini says Italy's decisive victory over France has given them the belief to overcome Spain, even though they face a midfield he considers "the best in Europe" in Sunday's quarter-final in Vienna.

Believers
The AC Milan midfielder came on in the 55th minute of Italy's 2-0 defeat of Les Bleus, helping the Azzurri hold off Raymond Domenech's men, and he insists it was the courage of their conviction that won Tuesday's 2006 FIFA World Cup final rematch. "Even before the France match we had self-belief," he told euro2008.com. "We were determined to get out of a delicate situation after the first two games [lost to the Netherlands and drawn with Romania] and that gave us a lot of desire against France.

Passing team
"We'll have to approach the next match in similar fashion because Spain are a side who like keeping possession and passing the ball around," added the 31-year-old. "There is no doubt Spain are a good team – in my opinion they have the best midfield in Europe. They have players who can create chances, players with considerable technical ability, and players who are very good on the ball. But they are a side that we must attack because they still have their weaknesses."

Suspensions
Italy have themselves been weakened in midfield by suspensions to Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, who were both booked against France, yet Ambrosini is confident the Azzurri can cope without his Milan team-mates. "We'll be without two players who bring great value and experience to the side but I think we have always shown that this Italy squad has a lot of very good alternatives," he said. 

Uplifting 
For the two-time UEFA Champions League winner, having to settle for a second-half substitute's role in the last two Group C games is not a problem, with Roberto Donadoni's decisions being justified by the results. Nor does he think Spain's decision to rest key men against Greece yesterday will work against the world champions in Sunday's last-eight tie. "So long as you're winning, being rested is not a factor," said the 34-cap veteran. "We'll have had five days to recover from our last match and I think the enthusiasm and satisfaction we got from beating France has given us that extra boost to morale."