Spain reign: (Left to right) David Silva, Andres Iniesta, Fernando Llorente, Iker Casillas and Raul Albiol

Arsene Wenger joined that band with some particularly pointed comments earlier in the day.

Wenger was present in Kiev in his role as a pundit for French TV and could not fail to be impressed.

Del Bosque insisted there was no outside influence involved in Spain's success.

'We played our own game,' he said. 'There were no real external influences: we were faithful to what we've done in recent years.'

Del Bosque expressed some sympathy for Italy, who had less preparation time after Thursday's semi-final win over Germany.

« Previous12345Next »