Johannesburg - Spain, back at the scene of their 2010 World Cup title triumph, suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat by South Africa in a friendly at Soccer City on Tuesday.
Bernard Parker chipped the ball over goalkeeper Victor Valdes for the only goal after 56 minutes for South Africa who missed out on qualifying for the 2014 edition in Brazil.
Goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune made a flying save in the final minute to deny Raul Albiol an equaliser for the world and European champions.
Asked by Spanish television broadcaster Cuatro if it was Spain's worst performance in recent times, coach Vicente Del Bosque replied: “It could be. I think we can even say the defeat was well deserved.
“We started well but little by little they started to open us up and we allowed them time to counter attack.
“We came out with good intentions and fought to the end to find an equaliser so I can't complain about the players' attitude,” added Del Bosque.
“They (South Africa) got better as the game went on.”
A crowd of around 40 000, less than half the capacity, watched a parade of the World Cup trophy by the Spanish players before kickoff. - Reuters