Spain coach Luis de la Fuente proved again that he is a tough taskmaster by criticizing his players for not making Thursday's 1-0 Euro 2024 win over Italy more comfortable.
La Furia Roja could have scored many more in a dominant performance, which sent them into the last 16 as Group B winners with a game to spare.
An own goal by Riccardo Calafiori 10 minutes in the second half made the difference as Nico Williams starred and Pedri was wasteful in front of goal.
"We don't have to lose our heads. Matches are decided by details, it was a game where we should have scored more goals," De la Fuente told reporters having also been less than ecstatic after the opening 3-0 win over Croatia.
But the 62-year-old, who rose up the ranks of Spain's age groups to replace Luis Enrique in 2022, is not shying away from wanting the title as pundits judge his side the best Spain outfit since they won back-to-back Euros in 2008 and 2012.
"We have to keep working in the same way. There is no one better than us, we have to keep working with that conviction," he said.
Spain fans were generally underwhelmed with his appointment but they won the Nations League last year and now look one of the teams to beat in Germany.