The World Cup may be over, but the partying is far from being done.
The victorious Spanish team returned home to Madrid on Monday, with several hundred thousand jubilant fans there to greet them.
The team landed to have a rest, before meeting with King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero, and then taking a five-kilometre, open-air drive to celebrate the country's first-ever World Cup win.
Dozens of airport workers cheered from the runway as the Spanish team landed, and flags were flown from cockpit windows of planes being taxied.
The crowd roared as heroic goalkeeper and team captain Iker Casillas stepped from the plane and raised the World Cup.
Many of those celebrating said the victory came at a perfect time, to take their minds off the country's struggles in other arenas.
"It's very important, it helps us forget a lot of things, like the economic crisis, for example, or people's domestic issues," Javier Sanchez, a 42-year-old photographer from Madrid, said.
Freelance reporter Benjamin Jones said it has been an amazing ride for Spanish fans, who watched their team play many tough opponents while making their way to victory.
"Spain had never made it to the semi-finals, this was a historical moment for everyone," he told CTV's Canada AM during a telephone interview on Monday morning.
Local newspapers devoted major front-page coverage to the win, with El Pais calling the World Cup victory "an ode to happiness" and El Mundo paying tribute to Andres Iniesta, "the little wizard" who scored the winning goal for Spain.
Jones said the five-foot-seven Iniesta is "the man of the hour" in Spain.
When Spain clinched the World Cup with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands yesterday, an estimated 300,000 people jammed the centre of Madrid, with the partying lasting well into Monday morning.
Hair salon owner Marisa Dalon stayed up until 3 a.m. to celebrate the win. The 42-year-old said "it is the greatest day imaginable. We are so incredibly proud."
Security guard Francisco Delgado, 49, came into work after sleeping only three hours.
"I'm so unbelievably proud not just that we won but of how we won, playing clean and in a dignified manner," said Delgado, 49. "The Dutch were tough and very unsporting. We can hold our heads up and I'd even be proud if we had lost because of the class and dignity of our game."
Another 75,000 fans took to the streets of Barcelona, during a rowdy celebration that eventually led to conflicts with riot police.
In South Africa, citizens are left only with the memories of hosting the world's biggest soccer tournament and with proof that the country can handle hosting such a massive event.
Globe and Mail sports columnist Stephen Brunt said the country faced many doubts in the lead-up to the World Cup, but left most people impressed with how successful the Johannesburg-hosted tournament was.
"A lot of people wondered whether this country could handle it, whether the infrastructure would hold up -- it's massive investment and I guess the bills are still to come in -- and there are issues with security and crime here," he told CTV's Canada AM by telephone from Johannesburg on Monday morning.
"But all of those fears, or almost all of those fears were unfounded. This has been a really remarkable event the last month and a bit, things have run very smoothly. And I think people have felt secure and have had a good time."
With files from The Associated Press
