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European champions Spain set a world record of 15 successive wins with a 2-0 Confederations Cup victory over hosts South Africa in Bloemfontein.

David Villa made up for a missed penalty by putting Spain into the lead on 52 minutes before substitute Fernando Llorente put the result beyond doubt with the second 20 minutes later.

Despite the defeat, South Africa joined their opponents in the semi-finals as Iraq were held to a goalless draw by New Zealand in Johannesburg in the other Group A match.

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque opted to rest several players, most notably Iker Casillas, Carlos Marchena and Sergio Ramos, but it was far from a weak XI that took to the bobbly pitch in Bloemfontein.

In came Liverpool trio Pepe Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa and Albert Riera, along with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and, as expected, the European champions dominated the opening exchanges.

Riera posed the earliest threat to Itumeleng Khune in the South Africa goal, pinging a fourth-minute free-kick on target only to see the keeper save with an athletic dive to his left.

But surprisingly, the dual strike threat of Fernando Torres and Villa was unusually subdued early on, largely due to some rugged South African defending.

Torres did manage to find a way through, twice, but on both occasions the Liverpool hitman was denied by Khune, the second time with an excellent save.

South Africa came into the game more as the first half went on, but without a cool head in front of goal, Reina was not called into action and enjoyed a relatively comfortable opening period.

Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar was at the centre of most things good for the hosts, most notably during a three-minute spell as the half drew to a close when he twice laid on chances for Bernard Parker and then Teko Modise. Both chances ended up sailing over Reina's crossbar.

The hosts' lack of a finishing touch came back to bite them soon after the restart, although they could be forgiven for feeling aggrieved at the manner of Spain's opener.

The same could not be said for the penalty which Aaron Mokoena conceded moments before the goal went in, the former Blackburn man diving in on Fabregas as he burst into the box.

But Villa saw his spot kick brilliantly saved by Khune, who also stopped the follow-up from Carles Puyol.

South Africa's resistance was finally broken just a minute later, Villa finally finding a way through, although there was a strong hint of handball as he brought down the ball before hitting a first-time volley into the far corner.

South Africa players protested loudly but referee Pablo Pozo was not interested.

The Chilean official was, however, more than willing to sound his whistle soon after when, having allowed the decision to affect their discipline somewhat, the hosts briefly showed their frustration with a succession of bad tackles.

First Teko Modise and then Kagisho Dikgacoi had their names taken before Gerard Pique joined them as the game threatened to descend into an unsavoury scrap.

Fortunately, South Africa regained their composure soon enough and began to play some promising football, although the game was put beyond their reach with the second goal on 72 minutes.

Llorente got it, having been on the pitch a mere 11 minutes. The Villarreal striker turned and fired inside the near post after Xavi's centre had come his way via Fabregas's miscued shot.

Two-nil down to arguably the best team in the world, and it was always going to be an uphill struggle for South Africa to get a result from the game.

So it proved, but Iraq's failure to score against New Zealand meant the night nevertheless finished on a high for the Bafana Bafana fans in Bloemfontein, who were able to celebrate when news of the other result finally filtered through.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport