Vienna: Spain coach Luis Aragones has "full confidence" that his team will overcome Russia's speed and strength for a second time to secure a spot in the European Championship final.
Aragones expects more attacking football in Thursday's semi-final than in Spain's previous match against Italy, which the "Red Fury" won 4-2 in a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw.
"It's more open football, which in a way is better for us, but they have players who are tremendously quick in the counterattack," Aragones said on Wednesday.
"In a physical aspect they are the strongest team that we have played, but I have full confidence in the team and that we will make it. It will take a terrific effort, but we will get to the final," he said.
Overachieving Russia has no plans to ease up now that it has reached the semi-finals, especially not when it has the chance to put right its only bad performance of the tournament.
"You can lean back and say we are happy and have done more than expected and that's it. I think that's not the spirit to go into the next game," Hiddink said on the eve of the match at Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna.
The veteran coach blasted his players for giving the ball away too easily after losing to Spain 4-1 in their group opener, and they seem to have learned the lesson.
Two weeks later, the Russians have kicked Greece, Sweden and the Netherlands out of the tournament while conceding only one goal.
"It was for us, a first step in a big tournament," Hiddink said. "Amazingly after that game we made a lot or progress, so I'm proud ... to represent a team and the revival of Russian football."
Spain's players said they expected a tougher match than in the first clash in Innsbruck.
"Russia are not in the semi-finals by chance," fullback Joan Capdevila said. "They played a perfect match against the Netherlands."
A key part of the difference is that playmaker Andrei Arshavin is back in Hiddink's team after serving a two-match suspension in the group stage.
"They have seen the return of an important player and that has made them stronger," midfielder Andres Iniesta said.
Aragones said he was impressed by several Russian players besides Arshavin, including left back Yuri Zhirkov and striker Roman Pavlyuchenko.
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Capdevila had a slight injury in Tuesday's training and left the session early but was not seriously hurt. The rest of the squad is injury-free.
Hiddink appears to have no injury worries. Midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, forward Ivan Sayenko and Alexander Anyukov all picked up minor injuries in the quarter-final, but they all trained on Wednesday evening and looked fit.
However, Hiddink will have to pick a team without central defender Denis Kolodin and attacking midfielder Dmitry Torbinski, who are both suspended after picking up their second yellow cards of the tournament against the Netherlands.
Vasily Berezutsky is expected to replace Kolodin to play in central defence alongside CSKA Moscow teammate Sergei Ignashevich.
Spain, who are unbeaten in 20 matches and have won the last 10, are likely to stick with the lineup that beat Russia in the group stage and also knocked out Italy in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals.
Aragones drilled the presumed starting players, led by strikers Fernando Torres and David Villa, in a practice match against the substitutes at Spain's base camp in Neustift on Tuesday.
Villa scored a hat-trick against Russia and is the tournament's top scorer with four goals.
Turkish club Fenerbahce announced on Wednesday they are set to hire Aragones on a two-year contract after Euro 2008, but the Spanish coach denied the deal.
"I don't understand it because Luis hasn't signed anything with anyone," Aragones said.
Asked about what the news from Fenerbahce would mean for Spain in their preparation for the semi-finals, Aragones said: "I don't think its going to affect the players at all."
Hiddink, who has coached three Spanish clubs, said he admires Spain's footballing philosophy, which is close to Russia's.
"I am looking forward to the clash between two teams who both like to play with technical skills and both like to play football," he said. "And that's why you cannot predict this result."
While Hiddink will want to forget the group-stage loss, he has positive memories from his previous encounter with Spain, whose only title is the 1964 European Championship.
The Dutchman coached the South Korean team that beat Spain in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup.
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