SPAIN midfielder Xabi Alonso insists his side will not be fooled by Italy's sluggish start to Euro 2008, pointing out that their quarter-final foes have a habit of performing best when under pressure.
The two highly-fancied nations, who meet in Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadion on Sunday, could hardly have had more contrasting routes to the last eight.
While Spain eased through their pool with a 100% record, reigning world champions Italy did it the hard way and after losing to Holland and drawing with Romania, they made it with a 2-0 win over France.
Alonso said: "A lot of times they have struggled to get through the group stages but once they get into the quarter-finals or semifinals they put out their best and it was quite similar in the (2006) World Cup, so we will have to be quite cautious about that.
"It is going to be difficult because Italy have a lot of experience. Whenever they are playing for something important they give their best and we know them very well."
The Liverpool midfielder was talking following Spain's 2-1 victory over Greece in Salzburg, a match in which he was handed the captaincy of a muchchanged team.
Alonso was named man of the match following a classy midfield performance which included two shots which, if they had gone in, would have been contenders for goal of the tournament.
The first saw Alonso attempt an effort from the halfway line which flew just inches wide of the top corner of Antonis Nikopolidis' net, while his second was a 30-yard thunderbolt that thumped against the inside of the post before fizzing across the face of the goal.
Alonso is no stranger to spectacular goals having scored from inside his own half for Liverpool, and the 26-year-old has warned opposing goalkeepers he will continue to try his luck from distance.
"I tried to do that with the Spanish team this time, it was close. I will try it again, no problem," he said.
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