Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque has stated that he has no regrets about the starting lineup he selected for Sunday's 1-1 draw with Italy.
The 61-year-old coach surprised everyone by deploying Cesc Fabregas as a false nine against the Azzurri, as the defending champions began the match without a recognized striker.
Del Bosque has received some criticism for the move, but he was keen to point out that that his strategy almost paid off.
"I do not think we played that badly, to be honest," Del Bosque told Onda Madrid. "Italy are always a very good side. They have very competitive players who are as good as ours. I am not going to say that it was the right thing to do, but Fabregas scored and [Fernando] Torres had chances, too.
"We were more dangerous than Italy, and we wanted the ball and to score, while Italy wanted the match to be over in the last 20 minutes."
The Spanish coach then admitted that he is used to criticism and rejected talk of a crisis within the group.
"There is a very good rapport between the players," the Former Real Madrid coach added. "We have won two tournaments and all that happened was merely a draw against Italy. But Spanish people are always trying to find something negative, that must be our fate.
"If you play with small players it is because there is no height in the team, if you play with tall players then we are renouncing our style. This debate is something normal and it does not bother me at all."
Spain will take on Republic of Ireland on Thursday in its second match at Euro 2012.
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