Andres Iniesta: 'Italy, powerful rival'

La Roja's failure to qualify at the top of their group means that an early clash of giants will take place against the Azzurri in the Round of 16.

“They're a powerful rival, a difficult rival, and a good game,” he told an Italian reporter after the game against Croatia, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport. “It's a game that will be useful to us, if we are to keep developing and taking steps in these Euros.

“Aside from the final four years ago, all of our games have been very closely fought out. Italy have excellent players, and a great defensive block we've known for a long time. Contrary to what I hear people saying, they also improved a great deal in terms of possession and ball-handling.

“They really stepped up, which makes the game on Monday even more complex and our aspirations even more difficult.

“This is how things went, we lost and now we've got to deal with Italy. We must face this situation with the appropriate confidence, because I believe that if we play at our level then we have some good chances of passing.”

Spain's 2-1 defeat to Croatia in the last match of their group came as a surprise to most onlookers.

“It’s not good when you lose but we continue. These things happen and now we have to continue to prepare for the game against Italy with the goal of reaching as far as possible.

“In theory we have stronger teams on paper but you never know. In football these things happen and you have to be prepared for everything, not just for the moments when you’re being praised.

“It hasn’t gone well, but we must continue, nothing has happened. We’re on the more complicated side [of the bracket] in theory but we are Spain and we have to remain confident.

“Every game is different, you try to find the best option and sometimes it goes well and other times not. We lacked concrete chances and in the end they scored on a counter-attack. We went looking for the goal and we were caught unawares. It shouldn’t have happened but it does happen.

Read the original article on Football Italia - The ultimate website for English-speaking fans of Italian football