MADRID, Spain - European champion Spain continued its homecoming celebrations with royal flair Tuesday, as departing coach Luis Aragones predicted the wait for the next trophy will be much shorter than 44 years.

Aragones and the 23 players, assistant coaches and Spanish football federation staff were welcomed by the royal family and the Spanish prime minister following its 1-0 European Championship victory over Germany that gave the country its first major title since 1964.

Football fans across Europe have applauded Spain for an elegant, quick-passing style that cut through defences to create top quality goals. With one of the tournament's youngest teams, Spain is already being marked as a favourite for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

"There isn't a team in the world that plays with the touch and precision that we do," Aragones said after the team was received by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. "We achieved this triumph and if we continue with the same work ethic, we'll achieve more trophies."

The Spanish royal family congratulated each player individually before Zapatero lauded the team's "talent, the work, the effort" that has made Spain "so proud."

"You won with such clarity and conviction. You played a game that was spectacular and brilliant. It was real football," said Zapatero, a lifelong FC Barcelona fan. "We are at the start of the best times of football for the national team ... and for Spanish sport. You have given a great image of Spain in Europe and the world."

Zapatero kept his speech brief, aware that the party hadn't stopped since Sunday night's victory at the Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna. After a late night at the team base in Neustift, the players returned to the Spanish capital on Monday to a welcome rally featuring hundreds of thousand people.

"They are tired, which is logical, since it has been hard work and an intense celebration," Zapatero said.

Despite producing top-class players and two of the world's best soccer clubs in Real Madrid and Barcelona, Spain's only major triumph prior to Sunday was 1964's 2-1 European Championship victory over the Soviet Union on home soil.

Though Spain's players pleaded with Aragones to stay on, the 69-year-old is expected to travel to Istanbul in the coming days to sign a two-year contract with Fenerbahce.

The Spanish federation will announce a successor to the country's all-time winningest coach next week, with former Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque expected to be named.

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