"?Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas says that the prospect of banishing the memories of Spain's group-stage exit from World Cup 2014 will provide extra motivation to succeed at Euro 2016, as reported by Goal.com,
Two years ago, the Spaniards went into the tournament in Brazil having won the last three major trophies available to them; the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, either side of a triumphant World Cup 2010.
However, defeats in both their first two group matches against the Netherlands and Chile saw Vicente Del Bosque's side's defence of the trophy end at the earliest possible stage.
Fabregas says that the memory of that abject failure in Brazil will inspire him and his team-mates to work even harder to ensure success this time around in France.
Speaking to Omnisport, Fabregas said, "there's a bad taste in our mouths after what happened at the last World Cup... but I believe [Euro 2016] will go well.
I like to think we can still achieve a lot as a team. The main difficulty we have is that everyone will want to beat us, because we are the defending champions. We have to make sure that will make us stronger and help us to motivate ourselves."
Spain have the chance to win their third straight European Championship, and Fabregas acknowledged that the prospect of that unprecedented achievement will provide Del Bosque's men with further inspiration.
"It would go down in history, it would just be amazing; it's something we have been dreaming about, the players and the country. I hope it will be possible.
Like Germany, Italy, England, Portugal, all these national teams, it's between all of us to try and compete and reach the final."
Spain hit South Korea for six in Euro 2016 warm-up: Czech Republic, Spain's first Euro 2016 Group D opponents... https://t.co/khuv4oT8dh
Spain kick off their Euro 2016 campaign against Czech Republic in Toulouse on June 13, having also been drawn alongside Croatia and Turkey in Group D.