Spain’s Vicente del Bosque praised the control shown by his side after two goals from Xabi Alonso secured a win over France and a place in the Euro 2012 semi-finals.
Despite not hitting their top form, Del Bosque was delighted with how his side restricted the French to just one shot on target
“The truth is we did well and controlled the game,” said Del Bosque. “Iker (Casillas) hardly had anything to do and that speaks of the good defensive performance of the team.
“If our defenders are good then we will be closer to winning the tournament because we will always create a chance.”
The former Real Madrid boss was particularly pleased with Alonso’s determination to make the run into the box that resulted in the first goal, and reiterated his belief that both he and Sergio Busquets offer important options going forward.
“Alonso is one of the players that has scored most in my time as manager,” said the coach.
“I already know that he and Busquets are a controversial pairing but I always defend that these are more attacking footballers than defensive ones.
“They have an extraordinary awareness of the team.”
Del Bosque voiced concerns about having less time off than Portugal ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final, though, and hinted he could be forced to freshen his side up if the heat in Donetsk is as severe as it was this evening.
“We have two less days to rest than them and I am thinking about this,” he said.
“It is a small handicap. We have arrived very drained because the heat we suffered tonight [Saturday night] was cruel on the players.”