Spain made a mockery of the format of the Confederations Cup by thrashing minnows Tahiti 10-0, while Diego Forlan capped his 100th appearance for Uruguay in some style scoring the winner in a 2-1 win over Nigeria.
Quite a few critics have questioned the fallacy behind allowing a country like Tahiti, filed with amateur players, into the Confederations Cup, where some of the top teams in the world are competing.
Against Nigeria, in their opening game the country from the Pacific Ocean did pretty decently, scoring a goal and earning themselves only a 6-1 loss.
Spain was always going to be completely another cup of tea, however, and it proved to be the case as Fernando Torres scored four goals, with David Villa netting a hat-trick and David Silva chipping in with two, while Juan Mata added another in the rout at the Maracana.
It could have been much more, with Torres missing a penalty and Spain playing in first gear for much of the 90 minutes - and this wasn't even the first choice side, with several regular starters rested on the bench.
"It's hard for any team to score ten goals but we know what we're capable of," Torres said. "We all play in the best teams in the world and we're not lacking in confidence.
"I don't know if my performance is going to get me a starting place. All I know is I don't have to prove anything to anyone. I've spent more than ten years playing in this jersey.
"It was important for us. We knew it was an opportunity to show what we could do and create a bit more competition. I think we achieved that."
Torres was all praise for Tahiti. "I'm a Tahiti supporter now," he added. "We've spent some time with them and you can only admire the spirit they showed. They play with the same passion and joy that we did when we were fans.
"It's so good to see a team like that, who don't kick you about and try to play the game.
"They know their limitations but they enjoy themselves and I'm a fan of theirs. We respect them, and that showed in the way we played.
"We had to go out and give the best of ourselves, as if it were the final. And I hope we can keep doing that right the way through as well."
David Villa made it a brilliant 56 goals in 90 appearances for Spain, and also agreed with Torres that Tahiti had given them good competition, even if the score might suggest otherwise.
"Games like this, when the opposition play with such enthusiasm and you pretty much know it's not going to be that tough, can be a bit strange," the Barcelona forward said. "We started to relax once the goals came, though."
Meanwhile, in the second game of the day Forlan was the hero, scoring the all-important winner in the 51st minute to take Uruguay to a strong position for a semifinal place.
Diego Lugano opened the scoring for the Copa America champions, before Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel made it 1-1 for Nigeria seven minutes before halftime.
However, Forlan had the final say, smashing a left-footed strike into the top corner in the 51st minute to give his country the win and mark his century in some style, just like Andrea Pirlo did for Italy earlier in the tournament.
Uruguay are now favorites to make the semifinals, with their next game against Tahiti, while Nigeria need to pick up a win against the mighty Spain if they are to have any chance of making the final four.
