Italy forward Alessandro Diamanti has said that he expects a great game when Italy and England square off in their Euro 2012 quarter-final.
England finished as group winners ahead of France and Ukraine, while Italy were runners-up in Group D behind defending champions Spain.
The former West Ham man has admitted that Roy Hodgson's men will pose a big challenge to the Azzurri, but insists that his side will be ready.
"The England game will be a fantastic match. I think it's a fascinating game between two great nations. It will be an open encounter and an attractive one," Diamanti told the official Uefa website.
"It will certainly be a lot harder than the Ireland match, because though [Giovanni] Trapattoni's side are physically strong, England have players with greater technique and experience.
"They have a lot of great players in their side, starting with [Steven] Gerrard, then [Scott] Parker, [Theo] Walcott and [Wayne] Rooney.
"I haven't watched many of their games, apart from the last one, but in the next few days we will do our research. We are working very hard and we're hoping to go all the way. We are putting everything into it as we do every match."
Italy are slight favourites with the bookmakers but many expect Sunday's quarter-final to go all the way to penalties.
