Crushed Spain hoping for a miracle

Forward Diego Capel conceded that his side "never thought things would have gone so badly" in Sweden after a 2-0 defeat against England left Spain facing an early exit from the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

'Hope for a miracle'
Goals from Fraizer Campbell and James Milner in Gothenburg saw Stuart Pearce's England confirm their place in the semi-finals, while Spain – with only one point from their two games – must now beat Finland in their final match on Monday while hoping that England do not take their foot off the gas and end their Group B campaign with a win against Germany, who have four points. "We have not been up to our usual standards in these two games," said Sevilla FC player Capel. "The only thing we have left is to hope for a miracle.

'Tough blow'
"The lads are devastated," he added. "This has been a tough blow. We had a lot of hopes pinned on this tournament. It is a very sad day. We had very few clear chances. England were much better, they played the game they wanted to play." The 21-year-old, who has featured in both of Spain's games so far in Sweden, continued: "We have to think about the squad and we have to be strong. This national team has to demonstrate more ability than we did here because our squad can do better. We are very surprised, because even we never thought things would have gone so badly. Now the only thing is to keep our heads up."

Stick together
Real Madrid CF midfielder Javi García agreed that Spain had to maintain their composure and fight for the chance that remains. "Qualification is almost impossible, but there is still a little chance to go through and we'll fight to see if we can achieve a miracle," said the 20-year-old. "Anything can happen. The team has to stick together because there is still one match to go." García did not accept that Juan Ramón López Caro's side had been unfortunate. "Luck comes to those who seek it out, and we didn't create enough chances to be considered unlucky. In this kind of tournament you pay for your mistakes". However, a kernel of hope remains. "Until it is mathematically impossible, we won't give in."

Bojan struggling
Bojan Krkić, who has yet to demonstrate the rich promise he has shown for FC Barcelona and in previous under-age tournaments for Spain, revealed that he was not in peak condition. "I personally haven't been right in these two games," he said. "I have some physical problems. I am not 100 per cent." The 18-year-old added: "It is true that we have had two bad games, we weren't good enough in attack. We had problems creating chances."