'My team is insatiable; they always want to win'

Luis de la Fuente, Spain coach
I'm very, very happy today. Russia had a great team and they made us work very hard – the defeat in the group stage motivated us to be better today. This was our best match of the tournament and one of the best ever. The first half was almost perfect and the only thing missing was to score more goals than the one we did get. We were better than Russia in the second half as well but until we made it 2-0, we couldn't be sure we had the win in our hands.

We've played three matches between losing to Russia and today and we've changed a few things. We were in better physical condition today but mostly it's because my team is insatiable. They always want to win and they were very hurt after losing the first game to Russia; they played very well today because they wanted to win that cup.

This victory means that we can remain true to our football idea, the way we play. It is a testament to the work that the various provinces are doing in uncovering talents and bringing them to us in the federation. We can be very optimistic for the future because we have a large talent base in Spain. Many of the players we've seen today will be in the first division in a few years – and in the senior national team.

Dmitri Khomukha, Russia coach
Congratulations to Spain and their head coach – they were much better today than in the group stage and they deserved to win. It's a fair result. We lost possession a lot in the opening minutes of the match and Spain put us under pressure – we had real problems from set pieces. Technically and tactically they were well prepared and they deserved to win.

Spain are an excellent team – right at the top level. There are teams that can beat them twice in a short space of time, but not many. We need to see what level these players are really at. We'll look to see why some players showed their good qualities tonight, and some didn't manage to.

The success of our team has been very important and these players deserve to progress more. They need to play for their clubs – that's how they become better players. Spain showed us tonight how we need to improve, technically and tactically.

Of course we'd like to have some of these players in the senior national team – if they get more game time for their clubs, they'll progress to the senior side. It's as simple as that.

Our team has gained huge experience here, it'll help all the players in the future. We've really showed our potential and the tournament has been a success for us overall.

I've not had any talks about taking over the Under-21s but if I get an offer I would probably accept it, because I enjoy working with young players – that's what I want to do.