Spain's coach Montse Tome expressed deep disappointment after their 4-2 semifinal loss to Brazil, emphasizing the need to focus on winning bronze despite the setback.
PARIS, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Montse Tome, the coach of the Spanish women's football team, admitted it had "hurt" to lose their Olympic semifinal 4-2 against Brazil.
Spain were hot favorites for goal and had already beaten Brazil 2-0 in the group stage of the tournament, but the world champions and UEFA Nations League holders were well below their best against the Brazilians this time and didn't help themselves with some defensive errors against a much-improved rival.
"It hurts to lose like that, because of all the hard work we have done," said Tome after the game, but she insisted the team deserved "the maximum respect for what they have given us and what they will give us in the future."
"Today is a tough moment, although it was against a difficult rival. We tried, but it didn't arrive and now we have to focus on winning bronze," she added.
Tome has been in charge since replacing Jorge Vilda as coach following the World Cup and she admitted she was "annoyed, because we compete to win and it hurts when that doesn't happen, but that's sport. Some you win and others you lose and now we have to react," she insisted.
Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll was the image of the defeat as she was in tears with her head in her hands after the match.
The Barcelona shot-stopper was at fault for the opening goal when her clearance bounced back off teammate Irene Paredes to end in the net.
"I just want to apologize to my companions," she said afterwards. I wasn't there today and it just wasn't my day, but we have another important match and we will try and win bronze," added Coll. ■
