Vicente del Bosque praised Tahiti for their sportsmanship and dismissed the notion that Spain’s 10-0 win was bad for the sport.
Four goals from Fernando Torres, three from David Villa, two from David Silva and one from Juan Mata saw La Roja manage a new Confederations Cup record for a margin of victory on Thursday night.
“You have to look at the positive. We have played with a good form, intensity, we have been professional,” commented Del Bosque after the win.
“The score reflects the difference between professional and amateur football. Spain has played with seriousness and effort, looking for the best possible outcome, which is the way to show respect for the opposition.
“Tahiti have set an example for fair play and has had a great performance. They reached our goal whenever they had an opportunity to do so.
“Spain could not have scored more goals because they were not allowed to by the opponent. Football has not been damaged and in some ways it has been strengthened.
“The game allowed us to give minutes to all the players. Now the best available have played this game and on Sunday it will be others.
“The crowd whistled Spain? I am sure that there were no whistles against us, whilst some went beyond the football field.
“The fans have shown their affection towards us in the match against Uruguay and are showing it to us every day.”
