Confederations Cup: Maracana crowd salutes Tahiti despite 10-nil loss to Spain

Updated 2 hours 14 minutes ago

Photo: Tahiti's players acknowledge the crowd at the end of their FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 Group B football match against Spain (AFP: Christophe Simon)

Map: French Polynesia

Tahiti's footballers have received a standing ovation from the crowd at the Maracana in Brazil after being crushed by Spain 10-0 at the Confederations Cup.

Spain broke the record for the biggest margin of victory at an international FIFA event, as Fernando Torres scored four times and David Villa claimed a hat-trick.
Tahiti sit 138th in the FIFA rankings and qualified for the tournament by winning the 2012 OFC Nations Cup.
The result 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.
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's goalkeeper Mickael Roche, who was drafted into the side to replace Xavier Smith, has told Australia Network he has mixed feelings about the match.
"It was still great to play Spain - it was an experience," he said.
"We have such great support from the crowd here - they gave us a standing ovation despite the result, even when the score is that heavy, it is unbelievable."
Fernando Torres has also praised the Tahitians for their performance.
"Often inferior teams look to break up the game and get aggressive, they play without spirit or hope," he said.
"Standards aside, Tahiti showed a great example of how to go about playing football.
"We have tried to show them respect in every sense."