Italy Under-21 coach Devis Mangia has admitted that he was "proud" of his players, despite their defeat in the European Under-21 Championship final to Spain.

Mangia said that the only thing separating his players from their Spanish counterparts was experience, which was the decisive factor on the night.

"I am really proud to be coach of this team," he told UEFA.com. "Until the final second my team tried to win the match.

"Yesterday I tried to play down this game but I knew the tension was increasing and this is not positive. I believed before the match that I could manage it.

"I think my players' only mistake – not a fault of theirs – was their lack of experience. In matches like this you need experience and they lacked the experience of the Spanish players."

Italy's goals came through Ciro Immobile and Fabio Borini.