Luca Toni says 'others should fear Italy' as he expects a 50-50 match against Euro 2016 rivals Spain.
The Azzurri face the holding European champions on Monday at 17:00 UK time, in a match that will decide who goes through to the quarter-finals.
“The odds are 50-50,” said the World champion. “I think Italy need to return to being a strong team that puts fear into their opponents. That includes Spain. Let the others ask themselves, what chances do we have against Italy?
Luca Toni says 'others should fear Italy' as he expects a 50-50 match against Euro 2016 rivals Spain.
The Azzurri face the holding European champions on Monday at 17:00 UK time, in a match that will decide who goes through to the quarter-finals.
“The odds are 50-50,” said the World champion. “I think Italy need to return to being a strong team that puts fear into their opponents. That includes Spain. Let the others ask themselves, what chances do we have against Italy?
“When the strikers were myself, [Alberto] Gilardino and [Alessandro] Del Piero, poachers scored in excess of 15-20 goals and I notched up to 30.
“And we were playing for great teams. Even in terms of our personalities, we were used to a certain type of pressure. It's a matter of generations and quality.
“Now in the great teams, Juventus aside, there isn't a single Italian. It's a thin line between blaming it on the poverty of our players or on the incompetence of our directors.”