Italy coach Cesare Prandelli is hoping to push players forward as he goes in search of success at the European Championships.

On paper his preferred system may seem negative with no out-and-out striker and instead two deep-lying forwards, but the former Roma and Fiorentina coach favours a style that sees his midfielders break from deep to go beyond the attackers.

Italy start their Group C campaign against world and European champions Spain on Sunday in Gdansk and even against them Prandelli wants his players to be brave and attack.

His side haven't scored in their last three games – all friendly defeats – but even in last week's 3-0 loss to Russia, Prandelli felt his team was at least committing players forwards.

"In the last game we may have lost convincingly but we still managed to create several chances and attack the area with five players," he said.

"That was the only positive aspect of that game. We must continue with the attitude of a team that will attack the area with four or five players."

The other main objective is to keep Spain away from their own area. Prandelli is acutely aware that should the world champions be given room to manoeuvre in the danger zone, they will cause havoc.

"We know that if we work hard together we can be competitive and our aim tomorrow is to let as few players as possible get close to our area," he added at Saturday's press conference.

"With the players and quality they have, if they can get close to our area it means things will not be going well."

Prandelli is in no doubt as to the size of the task facing his team.

"Obviously they're the team to beat because they have consistently played well these last few years.

"Spain always play the same way and few teams can match them, that's their strength."

But goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon insisted it's not always the best team who wins, but rather the team that does the best on the day.

"There's no way Spain are afraid of Italy, they are so sure of themselves that they don't fear anyone," he said.

"Of course they wll respect us as they do everyone. Usually in football the best team wins and they're the best but sometimes it's those who do the best who win and that's what we must hope for.

"What I mean is that you have to play better than teams that are better than you, like Greece in 2004 who got past five or six teams that were better than them and Denmark in 1992 bettered 15 teams that were their superiors."

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