Iker Casillas believes a win over Italy on Wednesday would give Spain the perfect platform to build on ahead of the run-in to Euro 2008.Spain have not enjoyed any success in international competition since winning the European Championships on home soil back in 1964, and have had their preparations for the 2008 tournament rocked by a series of off-field incidents.

The team has been unsettled by the reaction to coach Luis Aragones' decision to drop former-captain and top scorer Raul from the squad, plus FIFA president Sepp Blatter's threats to exclude Spain from the European Championships for governmental interference.

But with a 1-0 friendly win over World Cup runners-up France already in the bag, Real Madrid stopper Casillas believes another big scalp from one of the major European contenders would give his side the confidence boost they need.

"It doesn't mean anything in itself, but this type of game is great for gaining confidence," he told Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

"Just because we beat France doesn't mean we'll win Euro 2008, but it fills you with confidence to know you can beat these teams.

"This will be a great experience for us, as they are world champions and it'll be a pleasure to play them."

There was no place for Raul again in this squad, and Aragones will have to wait to see if fellow forward Fernando Torres will be fit for the game.

He and Barcelona defender Carles Puyol sat out Tuesday's training session, but there was a return for Valencia centre-back Carlos Marchena.

Italy also have off-field issues which have overshadowed their build-up to the game.

Juventus forward Alessandro Del Piero has been repeatedly dropped from the squad, and will not feature against Spain.

However there are returns for his team-mates Gianluigi Buffon and Mauro Camoranesi who missed the last game with Portugal.

But the main issue affecting the Azzurri is coach Roberto Donadoni's decision to reject an extension to his contract, which expires after Euro 2008.

However Donadoni has played down the situation, saying: "It doesn't mean I won't stay. I'm not ruling anything out.

"I didn't like the contract they offered, but we won't go to Austria and Switzerland any less motivated."

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