JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – Iberian neighbours Spain  and Portugal avoided the humiliating fate of fellow European  soccer powers Italy and France to reach the last 16 in yesterday’s  final games of the World Cup group stage.

No doubt aware of the savaging the “Azzurri” and “Les Bleus”  were receiving at home, European champions Spain started sharply  to squeeze past Chile 2-1 and top Group H.

A sumptuous curling long-range shot by David Villa, after  Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo found himself stranded, put the  Spaniards on their way, before Andres Iniesta made it two with  the 100th goal of the tournament.

The South Americans, who went down to ten men but still  pulled a goal back through substitute Rodrigo Millar, also go  through in second place after winning their first two games.

Earlier, Portugal drew 0-0 with Brazil to guarantee their  second round berth. But the surprisingly dreary game, between  two sides with a history of beautiful soccer, drew boos at the  end that even drowned out the local vuvuzela trumpets.

Brazil ended top of Group G, followed by Portugal.

UPSETS

Yesterday’s matches drew the curtain on a fascinating group  stage in South Africa where there have been shocks galore, none  more so than the departure of 2006 winners Italy and runners-up  France, both astonishingly ending bottom of their groups.

A rebellion by French players, who refused to train in  protest at the expulsion of Nicolas Anelka for insulting his  coach, overshadowed even their abject performances on the field,  including a defeat to South Africa.

Italy, for their part, could only draw with New Zealand and  Paraguay before spectacularly losing 3-2 to Slovakia in what  remains the game of the tournament so far.

Soccer is a religion in Italy and the 2006 heroes’ exit  plunged the nation into introspection.

“Azzurri, the mirror of a country,” wrote one newspaper  columnist Oliviero Beha. “A country without memory, without  identity, without an idea of the future.”

Africans are also licking their wounds after five of their  record six participating nations went out at the continent’s  first World Cup, disappointing millions of fans.

Ivory Coast were the latest to fail, coming third in Group G  despite a convincing 3-0 victory over North Korea on Friday.  Didier Drogba’s team would have needed a giant score to get  through — and for Portugal to lose — but showed no sign of  that despite weak opposition from the Asians.

AFRICA’S LAST HOPE

Ghana now carry African hopes in the first World Cup on the  continent and will meet the United States on Saturday for a  place in the quarter finals, the furthest any African team has  gone in the tournament’s history.

With Pele’s forecast that an African side would win a World  Cup before the end of the 20th century ringing hollow, there is  soul-searching round the continent as to what has gone wrong.