Spanish midfielder Oriol Romeu has claimed that his side have the "strength and desire" to progress to the latter stages of the Olympics.

Luis Mila's side were defeated 1-0 by Japan in their opening match of the Olympics, however, Romeu is confident that they can still advance deep into the tournament.

"The first game wasn't as good as we had hoped but this is football. Many national teams have won World Cups and European Championships having not won the first game. It is not how you start but how you finish," he told the Spanish Football Federation.

"In the dressing room after the defeat everyone was encouraging each other to move forward. This is a good thing to have in difficult moments, it comes from inside of us and I think we will show our resolve in the two games left in the group stages and those that come afterwards.

"We are the ones who believe in ourselves most, we have strength and desire and we are sure we are going to do something great."

Spain face Honduras in Group D on Sunday.