UEFA Euro 2016: De Gea not to blame for Spain's loss to Croatia, maintains Del Bosque

Spain football manager Vicente del Bosque has come to the defence ofDavid de Gea, insisting that the under-fire goalkeeper shouldn't be blamed for their side's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Croatia in their final Group D match of Euro 2016.

Spain, the two-time defending champions, squandered a one-goal lead as Alvaro Morata's early strike was overturned by goals from Croatia's Nikola Kalinic and Ivan Perisic at Stade de Bordeaux, Paris.

De Gea, who enjoyed a stellar season at Manchester United, conceded two of the three Croatian shots on target and could have conceded another if Ivan Rakitic's lob shot hadn't hit the crossbar.

"We can't blame him," Del Bosque said after the game. "The second was a counter-attack. The first one is close range. We lost and as I always say: we have all lost. All of us. We are all to blame."

Spain also missed a chance to retake their one-goal lead when captain Sergio Ramos failed to convert a penalty kick in the second half.

The coach further admitted that 'this was not the path' they had envisaged as Spain face a daunting task against Italy in the round-of-16 clash at the Stade de France on Monday, knowing that they will meet world champions Germany and then France should they progress that far.

-ANI