Spain's 2-1 loss to Japan in the final group game, after the Asian side scored two quick-fire goals, dropped the team to second in the group, and there was a three-minute period when Spain was third after Costa Rica took the lead against Germany.

Ultimately, Germany did Spain a favor by beating Costa Rica, but Rodri admitted those three difficult minutes unnecessarily complicated the team’s own match before it sealed progress to the last 16.

"Now a new competition is beginning. There is always analysis on what we can improve on, even after the games when we've played well," Rodri told reporters ahead of Tuesday's game against Morocco, which surprisingly topped Group F.

"The other day there weren't that many things to improve on because it was a 10-minute collapse and this is what we have to do better. We've been warned that this cannot happen again.

"The coach has been clear, the players have assumed responsibility, and we're training happily, wanting to be in the next round and knowing that we can get there."

‘Clear role’

Popular

Freezing of protester’s bank account draws flak

Growing regional discontent

Indonesia’s rare earth push faces low-content, costly extraction hurdles