CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, June 16 (Reuters) - Spain’s players must keep cool heads, lift their spirits and show a better version of themselves, forward Mikel Merino said on Tuesday as the former world champions digested the shock of being held by tiny Cape Verde at the World Cup.
The 2010 winners played a goalless draw with the African island nation in their opening Group H game in Atlanta on Monday in a shock result that has put the highly fancied Spaniards on the back foot.
Merino said Spain’s players
had dealt with the disappointment in different ways but were now itching for a chance to prove themselves.
“As with any game where things don't go the way you’d like, everyone deals with the disappointment in their own way,” he told a press conference on Tuesday.
“Some watch the match again; others think about other things. We’ve had to swallow the disappointment of not getting the three points. The important thing is to recover and focus on the next match.”
OPENING LOSS
Spain famously lost their opening game of the 2010 World Cup to Switzerland before going on to win the tournament.
“Something similar happened against Scotland, which was actually (coach) Luis’s (de la Fuente) second match in charge,” he said of their second game in the Euro 2024 qualifiers when they were beaten 2-0 at Hampden Park.
“We’ve experienced this kind of noise before and we’re handling it the same way. We remain humble, but we know we’re a good team.
“We can improve, but we also did things well against Cape Verde. We need to keep a cool head, these are moments when you have to stay calm.”
As to what went wrong against Cape Verde, Merino added: “The coach and the analysts need to pinpoint the issues and tell us what could have been done better. We practice self-criticism even when we win. There’s always room for improvement.”
Since their 2010 triumph, Spain have won only three of the last 12 World Cup matches.
“Mentally, I see the team approaching the tournament in the same way we always do,” Merino said.
Spain are back in Atlanta on Sunday for their second game against Saudi Arabia, who drew 1-1 with Uruguay on Monday.
“The guys are itching to make things right,” Merino added.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Atlanta; Editing by Ed Osmond)
