Spain defender Raul Albiol praised his national team for the fighting spirit they demonstrated against Sweden in their last-gasp 2-1 victory on Saturday.

"We deserved the victory because of all our hard work," he said.

"We looked for the win right until the last second. That is fundamental in a Euro Cup. I am happy with the attitude of the team, and the work rate we put in."

For Albiol replacing Puyol wasn't an easy task, and he said: "It is complicated to come on because of an injury to a team-mate, you enter the field when you are cold, and it is hard to get into the match, especially when you are competing in such a difficult competition like the Euro Cup.

"It was a difficult period in the match, however, in the second half we dominated the match right until the goal came. I hadn't played for a long time, but at the end the important part was that the team won. We have to be happy with the victory."

Albiol concluded by stating that his preferred opponents in the quarterfinals would be Romania: "The entire Spanish camp would like to face Romania in the quarters. Holland have already qualified, and they might relax for their next match. It would be good for Romania, who did well to hold both France and Italy."