ã Reuters

Spain finally found their form on Wednesday when they beat Bulgaria 6-1 in their final Group D match here, but it all proved to no avail as Paraguay snatched away their last hope of qualifying for the second round by beating Nigeria.

With the Africans already assured of top spot in the group, the pressure was on both Spain and Bulgaria to grab the win which would have given them a chance of leapfrogging Paraguay, a point clear in second place at start of play.

But with the South Americans finding their scoring touch, Spain's joy at their biggest-ever World Cup triumph proved cruelly short-lived. Spain coach Javier Clemente said: " It is a bitter victory and sad that the players should be knocked out after such a great performance. I think that the Nigeria result really battered our confidence and it has taken us till now to recover. " Spain were beaten 3-2 by Nigeria in their opening World Cup game. "Still, life goes on and it is nice at least to end with such a big win over a team that made the 1994 semi-finals. "

Francisco Morientes, one of the night's heroes, said: " I'm really happy to have been on the score sheet but I'm gutted we're out. " Clemente's men had come into the tournament on the back of an unbeaten qualifying tournament which made them one of the most feared sides in Europe. But the damage done by twice squandering the lead to lose their opening match against the Nigerians and their failure to break down Paraguay proved irreparable, despite a tremendous display of fiesta football.

Clemete said: " This is a bitter defeat for us because we are going home. The bottom line is Paraguay beat Nigeria so we are out. People expected a lot of us and we didn't deliver. But I am proud of the team. Things don't always go as planned. "  A fifth-minute penalty from Fernando Hierro and a low drive after 18 minutes from Luis Enrique put the Spaniards in charge as Bulgaria, who had also only taken one point from their opening two games, wilted under the onslaught.

And a second-half double from Real Madrid starlet Morientes, sandwiching a consolation Bulgarian effort from Emil Kostadinov wrapped up a fine win which at least gave their thousands of fans something to sing about on the long journey back beyond the Pyrenees. Second half substitute Kiko put the icing on the cake with two in the last two minutes.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian veteran Hristo Stoichkov failed to come back out after the break after an anonymous showing on this his last World Cup appearance. Hristo Bonev, the Bulgaria coach, said: " I am very disappointed with this terrible performance, which let down not only me but all the supporters who paid a lot of money to come here and support the team. The team just threw in the towel and I want them to sit down and analyse why that happened. "

Clemente sprang a surprise before kickoff when he dropped Real Madrid youngster Raul, who had started in both the previous games but had failed to shine. And his strategy proved bang on as the Spanish, having stuttered so badly beforehand, suddenly sparked into life and tore into their Balkan opponents, seeking the win they needed to have any hope of advancing from what was dubbed the 'Group of Death'.

In Raul's absence, his Real Madrid clubmate Morientes had the chance to shine alongside Alfonso of Betis with Luis Enrique and Athletic Bilbao's Etxeberria pulling the strings just behind and wide of the attacking tandem. Morientes grabbed the chance with both hands as he took his tally in a Spain shirt to six in four games.

Spain started as if they meant business with Hierro, Sergi and Luis Enrique all probing down a suspect left flank. And they needed just five minutes to take a deserved lead to the delight of watching King Juan Carlos. Bulgarian defender Ivaylo Iordanov, who has spent the last seven seasons with Sporting Lisbon of Portugal, appeared to push Luis Enrique as the Spaniard motored into the left side of the area and Dutch referee Mario van der Ende had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Hierro, left out against Nigeria but in brilliant form Wednesday, duly sent keeper Zdravko Zdravkov the wrong way driving the ball low into the corner.

Zdravkov had already had to react smartly to stop a rasping freekick from Hierro, who looked in the mood to beat his side's Balkan opponents on his own. Spain broke again and Enrique burst into the box only for Zdravkov to block his low drive after ten minutes as the Bulgarians found themselves under siege.

Bulgaria just couldn't cope with Spain's agility and speed of thought, as they constantly found themselves harried out of possession. Krassimir Balakov allowed himself to be robbed once too often on 18 minutes and it proved expensive as the Spanish doubled their advantage.

Athletic Bilbao's Etxeberria, making only his seventh appearance for Spain, escaped down the right, splitting the Bulgarian defence and finding Luis Enrique, who drove in low off the far post. The second half saw Bulgaria put the Spanish defence under increased pressure, but Morientes galloped clear on the counter attack on 53 minutes to steer home the third and from there the outcome of the match was sealed.

Kostadinov pirouetted smartly three minutes later for 3-1 and Penev twice went close but Raul then found Morientes with a telepathic pass which the young striker tucked nonchalantly away for 4-1. Kiko drove the fifth through the unfortunate Zdravkov's legs and headed in the sixth off the back of the goalkeeper.

But when the Paraguay result filtered through, despite Spain's champagne performance, a tangible gloom descended over the stadium.

© - AFP - 1998