Spain broke the record for the biggest margin of victory at the final phase of a FIFA tournament by crushing minnows 10-0 Tahiti at the Confederations Cup in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Fernando Torres scored four times and David Villa claimed a hat-trick for the world and European champions at Rio's hallowed Maracana, with David Silva adding a brace and Juan Mata also finding the net.
No team had previously won by 10 goals at an international FIFA event, with Hungary (9-0 against South Korea at the 1954 World Cup, 10-1 against El Salvador at the 1982 World Cup) and Yugoslavia (9-0 against Zaire at the 1974 World Cup) the co-holders of the previous record. Tahiti, who sit 138th in the FIFA ranking, equalled their heaviest defeat - a 10-0 demolition by New Zealand in 2004 - but Spain fell short of matching their 13-0 annihilation of Bulgaria in a 1933 friendly.
"It's a very nice result. The difference between the two teams was too great," said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque. "But we played our game and they have a way of playing that is correct. They're a very noble team." Spain will be assured of a place in the semi-finals if Nigeria avoid defeat against Uruguay in Salvador later in Group B. The same outcome would also end Tahiti's mathematical chance of reaching the last four. Tahiti coach Eddy Etaeta said the reception his part-time players had received from the Brazilian crowd represented a "great victory". "We've won the hearts of the fans," he said. "'Obrigado' (thank you, in Portuguese) to everyone."
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