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Italy coach Cesare Prandelli was generous in his praise of European champions Spain after their 4-0 victory in Sunday's final but was left ruing the lack of preparation time his team had, Reuters reported.

Spain's win makes them the first team to win two consecutive European Championships with a World Cup sandwiched in between and Prandelli said they deserve all the plaudits they will get for that achievement.

"They made history and deservedly - they have a lot of players who are tried and tested at this level and even though they don't play with a classic striker they certainly cause you plenty of problems," said the Italy coach who said his team had simply struggled for fitness.

"We played against them in the group stage and I thought we were excellent in that first game because we were 100 percent fit," he said of the 1-1 draw three weeks ago.

"Against a team like Spain I think you really need to be good in tackle and above all fit, they totally dominated this evening and we have to congratulate a great side for their victory."