Vicente del Bosque has paid tribute to Italy, while commending his side's gradual improvement during the semi-final clash. "They were better than us, particularly in the first half. Then we managed to even things up before extra-time, when we went from strength to strength and ended up on top".

The Spain coach praised Italy for stopping 'La Roja' from playing its usual game: "They opened up the pitch through Maggio and Giaccherini, while Marchisio and Candreva hurt us on the inside".

Del Bosque gave Toni Grande credit for the penalty shootout success, claiming that "he picked the takers", while also explaining why he pushed Javi Martínez forward into the number 9 position: "We couldn't afford to surrender any of our aerial threat and Javi did a lot of running from box-to-box. He was delighted when we asked him to play there".

As for the final, the coach appealed to his players to be "raring to go like a child, despite everything they've won". He also refused any suggestions of tired legs: "Brazil having an extra day's rest is no excuse. That's the way the draw panned out".

The ex-Real Madrid supremo believes there are no favourites: "They are five-time world champions and we've only won it once, but a new era begins on Sunday at the Maracana". Nevertheless, Del Bosque showered praise on Luiz Felipe Scolari's side: "They've got an extraordinary team, especially the two full-backs. Neymar and Hulk are fantastic and they have a very strong spine".