Stunned by their heroes' 5-1 humiliation by the Netherlands, Spaniards are already bemoaning the end of a glorious era and fearing the worst in La Roja's World Cup life-or-death clash tomorrow with Chile.
Diego Maradona put the challenge in a nutshell.
"So how are Spain going to recover from this massive blow? Spain isn't used to letting in five goals," the Argentine legend told Latin American television station Telesur.
On Friday night as Spain crumbled in the second half against the Dutch onslaught, some supporters still held out hope.
"In 2010 we also lost the first match," one female supporter said tentatively.
"But this was not just a defeat, they crushed us," said another fan.
After a historic triple -- Euro 2008, the World Cup in 2010 and Euro 2012 -- Spaniards are suddenly facing up to the prospect of losing heavily, perhaps even falling out in the group stage.
"I have the impression that it's the end of an era. The cycle of victories is over," said Javier Gomez, sports presenter for the private television station La Sexta.
He does not think Spain will make it to the quarter finals.
"It is the end of a footballing model," he said, the "tiki taka" trademark of Spain and Barcelona in which players make rapid-fire short passes aimed at frustrating the opponents by depriving them of the ball until the moment it ends up their net.
It is a style that is now under challenge from a faster, more physical game, Gomez told AFP.
"Against Chile they may be able to take control because the players have been stung. But it's going to be very difficult because Chile are a very disciplined team, relentless, very physical on the attack," he predicted.
And even a win against Chile may not be enough in a Group B dominated by an avalanche of Dutch goals.
