Advertisement
Advertisement
Fifa World Cup 2014
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Vicente del Bosque couldn't spark his team into life. Photo: Reuters

'There will be consequences' - reaction from Spain's stunning early exit from World Cup

Vicente del Bosque hints that he might be set to quit as he talks of 'consequences'

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque said there would be "consequences", including potentially for himself, after the world champions’ shock elimination from the World Cup on Wednesday, but said he needed time to reflect.

"Whenever something negative happens in a World Cup or an important competition like this, it has consequences," Del Bosque said.

"I don’t want to get into that analysis because we have a lot of time ahead of us," he said. "We need to reflect on this calmly ... We will have time to do the things that we think are best for Spanish football and that applies to me as well."

I only ask fans for forgiveness, we did everything we could
Goalkeeper Iker Casillas

Del Bosque could not hide his disappointment after the holders were eliminated from following the 2-0 defeat to Chile on Wednesday.

“It is a sad day for all of us,” he said after Spain were left without a point from two games in group B, having lost 5-1 to the Netherlands in their opening match last Friday.

“We are sorry we didn’t succeed [but] now is too early to analyse where we go from here.

“We were inferior to both Holland and Chile. They got the goals and gave us a mountain to climb. We were too timid in the first half and did not react sufficiently in the second.

“The first goal really buoyed them and they really got into our faces.”

Del Bosque, 63, took over the Spain team from the late Luis Aragones after they won Euro 2008 and he led them to victory at the World Cup in South Africa two years later, before they triumphed again at Euro 2012.

“I only ask fans for forgiveness, we did everything we could,” said much-criticised goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who lifted the trophy four years ago.

Midfielder Xabi Alonso, who was withdrawn at half-time and replaced by Koke, said the players had to deal with the "great sadness" caused by the setback "like men".

"The supply of joy is all used up and we were not able to keep the good run going," Alonso said.

"The feelings were not like in other championships. In other years we knew how to control games and this time we were nowhere.

"It’s the worst defeat of my career, but just as we knew how to behave as winners we have to know how to lose."

Forward Fernando Torres, scorer of the winning goal in the Euro 2008 final and a second-half substitute against the Chileans, predicted Spain would bounce back as they had a promising crop of younger players.

"There is a great generation coming through and we will do great things again," he said.

"You can’t win all the time and thankfully we can look back and see everything we have achieved." 

Post