Spain Under-21 coach Julen Lopetegui has said that his side's impressive showing at the European Under-21 Championship was down to his players' complete belief in the tiki-taka style of football.

The young Spaniards retained their trophy with a 4-2 win over Italy in Tuesday's final, and their coach was delighted with the hard work that they put in throughout the tournament.

""We have one style and we believe in this style, we work on this style," UEFA.com quotes him as saying.

"We have good players who believe in this system, but we know it's not perfect – in football nothing is perfect – so we keep working and trying to improve. But we have good players. If you don't have good players, it's impossible.

"They have quality but if they don't believe in the team it's very difficult. It's more important that they work hard, stay strong and have belief in the team."

Thiago Alcantara netted a first-half hat-trick in the final.