Bloemfontein, South Africa - Though they beat Iraq 1-0 on Wednesday evening to claim a spot in the Confederations Cup semi-finals, Spanish players were not happy with the state of the pitch in Bloemfontein's Free State Stadium.

Despite the fact that there had been unseasonably heavy rains earlier in the week, many of La Roja players said the field was overly dry, which didn't allow them to play their usual flowing football and gave an advantage to the defensive tactics of Iraq.

"The pitch was horrible," said playmaking midfielder Xavi after the match. "Not the grass itself, but it wasn't watered. It was a disaster."

The sparkling Barcelona man looked uncharacteristically erratic in the match against the Asian Champions and many of his passes seemed to come up short.

"The ball didn't run well," he confirmed. "It obviously benefits the defence. It seems like it's just going to encourage teams that don't play good football."

Man of the match Xabi Alonso confirmed that it affected the play of the European Champions.

"The dry pitch made a difference for us," he said. "It made it harder to break down an already complicated team because we couldn't move the ball fast enough."

In response to the comments, the Venue Manager for the stadium, Fithiwe Ngwenya, said there was nothing special about the way the pitch had been treated.

"We haven't received any official complaints," he said. "There is continuous work being done on the stadium field, which is in good shape. We are watering it as usual.

"I think the pitch is up to standards. If not, FIFA would not let them play there," he said before refusing to comment on whether there could be potential questions of home advantage raised ahead of Spain's match with the host nation South Africa on Saturday.

On Thursday, more Spanish players registered their concerns.

"The pitch was definitely too dry, and it stopped us from playing like we did before," said Juan Manuel Mata, who earned his second cap against the Iraqis.

Fellow midfielder Sergio Busquets said the pitch was a problem but was less severe in his criticism.

"The grass in the first match was better and faster for sure," he said. "But really it's not that important. It's a little problem in the end."

If Spain win Group A, which they will if they avoid defeat against Bafana Bafana, they will stay in Bloemfontein for the semi-final next Wednesday against the second place finisher in Group B. (dpa)