"Spain are the European champions and a very good team. I have learned a lot."
It was not so much a gulf in quality Spain exposed. Apart from Phil Jagielka's inexplicable error in playing the ball into a midfield area occupied only by Spanish players to create the opening for David Villa's first-half strike, England acquitted themselves reasonably well.
True, midfield maestro Xavi, with his quick feet and even quicker brain was a class apart, while Villa, Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso provided pretty competent back-up.
But in one-off situations, England quite often had the answers.
But that extra 5%, which turns good teams into trophy-winning ones, was missing.