Fifa World Cup: Fernando Hierro dodges questions on Spain future after dramatic defeat to hosts Russia

Koke and Iago Aspas saw their spot-kicks saved by Igor Akinfeev as Russia prevailed 4-3 in a shoot-out following a 1-1 draw in Moscow.

Hierro was drafted in as coach on the eve of the tournament when Julen Lopetegui was sacked after it was announced he would take over the Real Madrid job next season.

“That doesn’t not worry me, I don’t think it’s something for right now,” said Hierro when asked about his future in the role.

“Now we need to share this difficult moment. We all wanted to great things at this tournament.

“We’re talking about a generation of extraordinary players and we haven’t been performing at the level we expect in the World Cup.”

Hierro rejected any suggestion the team would have fared better had the Spanish federation not decided to axe Lopetegui after arriving in Russia.

“We had opportunities to win this match but we ended up in a penalty shoot-out which is basically a lottery, and we weren’t lucky,” he said.