Curitiba, Brazil – Spain defender Sergio Ramos claimed the world champions will recover from the historic 5-1 rout they suffered at the hands of the Netherlands, insisting “excuses are for losers”.
La Roja will almost certainly need to beat Chile and Australia in their final two group games and may even also need a favour from the Dutch when they face Chile on June 23.
“In football you are obliged to move on,” said Ramos.
“The dressing room is more united than ever. We are full of desire, passion and pride and would like to play today against Chile.
“We will not forget what happened yesterday, but we are very motivated. We have to lift ourselves, we can't go crazy after one bad game against a very good team.”
A key player in Spain's three consecutive major tournament victories in the past six years, Ramos was one of the main culprits as the Spanish defence was torn apart by the Dutch in the second-half in Salvador.
Captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas was also in the firing line due to his string of errors, but Ramos believes the huge amount of tournament experience within the squad will help them recover.
“I'll live with the critics. I don't go mad with the praise, nor will I be drowned by the criticism.
“Now we all have to do our bit. The veterans and the young players. We have to accept what happened, but we are a group of champions and we can't blame individuals.
“Much is expected of us, but now more than ever we are united. We have not been sent home yet.”
A lack of hunger, a long season at club level and the difficult conditions in Brazil have all been offered as excuses for Spain's collapse.
Ramos, though, refused to make excuses for a side that has shown remarkable consistency in recent years.
“Excuses are for losers and Spain have a winning mentality. That is not going to change.
“We can't live in the past because it is not the badge that wins championships, but the ambition that has always motivated us.”
Barcelona full-back Jordi Alba echoed Ramos' words on the need for unity.
“It was an accident, we conceded stupid goals but we need to keep going,” he said.
“In the first-half we were superior and in the second-half our level dropped.
“We are the ones that win or lose and we need to be stronger than ever now. We need to believe we can still qualify for the last 16.”
Sapa-AFP