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Soccer-Spain women call for coach to go after World Cup flop

MADRID, June 19 (Reuters) - The Spanish women's soccer team have delivered a stinging rebuke to coach Ignacio Quereda and called for him to be replaced after they finished bottom of their group at the World Cup. Taking part in the finals for the first time, Spain began their campaign in Canada with a 1-1 draw against Costa Rica but defeats by Brazil and South Korea left them with a single point from their three Group E games and without a place in the last 16. "It's clear the preparation for the World Cup was inadequate," the 23-strong squad said in a statement on Friday. "Non-existent warm-up games, a lack of acclimatisation, insufficient analysis of opponents and preparation of matches ... and that has been the pattern for a long time," they added. "We believe an era has come to an end and we need a change. We have communicated that to the coach and the technical team." Ranked 14th in the world, Spain's disappointing performance also meant they missed out on a place at next year's Olympic Games in Brazil. As UEFA will not host a specific qualification tournament, the three best-placed European sides at the World Cup will secure a berth in Rio de Janeiro. "On both an individual and group level the 23 players have been self-critical and we know we could have performed better," the squad said. "This generation has the talent and commitment to have gone a great deal further." (Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Tony Jimenez)