Vicente Del Bosque acknowledges Spain’s poor World Cup 2014 but ‘we’ve won two of the big tournaments…’
Spain go to Euro 2016 after a disappointing World Cup that saw the holders exit at the group stages, having also won Euro 2010 under his stewardship and Euro 2008 with Luis Aragones, and Del Bosque accepts his side didn’t deserve any different.
“I’d say this as a reminder: We’ve played three big tournaments and the next is the fourth, we’ve played four qualifying stages and we have qualified with unusual authority, in 36 games we’ve won 33, drawn two and lost one,” he told Mundo Deportivo in Spain’s defence.
“We’ve won two and lost one of the big tournaments and we didn’t deserve more, because we were inferior to the Netherlands and Chile and we have accepted that as sportsmen should.
“It was too little a taste of the World Cup but this is sport, and now we’re preparing and hopefully we can have a good tournament in France.”
Friendlies against Italy and Romania in the coming days present an opportunity for Spain to test themselves ahead of the summer, but Del Bosque isn’t concerned about which country represents the most difficult challenge.
“I think Romania are 14th in the FIFA rankings and Italy is 16th, and we are third so let’s see if they comply with the rankings,” he noted.
“But I think Italy have a good team, with Juventus’ defensive structure, and very good players in midfield and in attack.
“Normally Italy would be more difficult but Romania are ranked at 14, and that means their results have been good.”
