Pedro Backs Spain to Cope with Pressure

Spain will not crumble under the weight of expectation during Euro 2016 in France as they have grown accustomed to the pressure that comes with winning several major honours in recent years, winger Pedro has said.

Vicente del Bosque’s charges are under increased pressure to win their third successive European Championship title, after their ill-fated 2014 World Cup campaign in Brazil, where they were eliminated in the group stages.

“There is big pressure for us to win. That’s normal but we just need to focus on the tournament and each game when it comes along,” Pedro told his club, Chelsea’s website (www.chelseafc.com).

“We have had time to prepare but the Euros are always very difficult to win.”

Pedro, who has scored 17 goals in 57 appearances for his country, insisted the morale in the squad remained upbeat despite Spain’s embarrassing loss to 137th-ranked Georgia in their final Euro 2016 warm-up friendly on Tuesday.

“Confidence is high and the team have been doing well,” Pedro added.

“All the players are focused on the tournament and winning the cup but there are a lot of other strong teams such as England, Belgium and France, who are playing at home, so it will be difficult.”

Spain kick off their title defence in Group D against the Czech Republic on Monday in Toulouse before facing Turkey and Croatia.