France boss Laurent Blanc says his side should have no shame in bowing out of the 2012 European Championships to a Spain side which he believes are “great” following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat.
Les Bleus mustered up very little in their quarterfinal as Xabi Alonso hit a double to send Blanc’s side packing.
However, the France coach conceded their opponents, who are aiming for an unprecedented third straight major tournament victory, were simply too good.
“This Spanish side are great. We shouldn’t have any shame saying they’re a better side than us,” Blanc told reporters after the game.
“I have regrets the way we conceded the opener. I think they were afraid of us – especially our forward line.
“My main regret is that we conceded so early in the game. We’re going to analyse everything in detail in the coming days.”
Blanc was nevertheless disappointed to see his side bow out of the tournament, particularly given the opening goal came from a threat they had expected.
“You’re never happy when you lose a game, you’re always disappointed. When you go out of a European Championship you’re even more disappointed,” he said.
“We had looked a lot at the Spanish side and we knew they were very good on the left, with Jordi Alba and Iniesta always doubling up. The most frustrating thing is that we conceded [the first goal] on that side. That’s what’s infuriating; they just had one cross and they scored.”