Spain have been our pick from the first whistle and now is not the time to desert the reigning European Champions as they aim for the international double.

The problem is how to make money on the Spanish now the bookies have finally conceded they are the best team in the competition and priced them up at 8/15 to lift the trophy.

Spain are 11/10 with Paddy Power to win the final in 90 minutes and that looks a decent bet given their current form.

It is the fabled Spanish midfield which rightly wins all the plaudits. But the defence isn’t doing a bad job either.

They have won all their knock-out games 1-0 beating Portugal, Paraguay and Germany by the same score.

All those matches followed a similar pattern. Sides were wary of attacking Spain so played it tight while being passed to death which led to them tiring in the second half when they were picked-off at will.

Paddy Power is also offering 4/1 that the match is drawn at half time before Spain win out after 90 minutes. That’s the form call and worth a wager.

Spain often look for the perfect goal but sometimes have to rely on an old fashioned set piece.

It was Carlos Puyol who headed them into the final and his fellow centre half Gerard Pique at 13/1 is worth a few quid to score anytime during the game.

Pique is powerful in the air and has footwork that many an English striker would envy.

The inquest continues into England’s feeble showing and it’s obvious we need to adapt our style of play to compete at the highest level.

Spain’s possession football and the lightning breaks of the Germans seem a different game to the one we play.

Other teams can now match our physical approach allied to better technique and more sophisticated tactics.

Our players and management could have learned a lot by staying in South Africa and watching how the game is played these days.

Unfortunately they couldn’t wait to scuttle home and jet off on their next luxury holiday