A thunderous roar erupted across the Spanish capital and fans danced in the streets chanting "Viva Espana!" as the country's first ever World Cup trophy sparked a nationwide fiesta.

The centre of Madrid was a sea of the red and gold national colors as Spain celebrated its nailbiting 1-0 extra-time win over Holland Sunday.

The deafening sounds of cheering, klaxons, firecrackers and cars horns rang out as the World Cup's perennial underachievers won the trophy in their first appearance in the final thanks to a late goal from Andres Iniesta.

"The dream has come true," said the El Pais daily on its website.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he was "happy and emotional.

"This has been an epic match, I suffered like never before," he told Cadena Ser radio.

In blistering heat, more than 150,000 supporters watched the match on massive screens in a giant fan park in a one-kilometre (half-mile) stretch of the city's main thoroughfare.

"We are very proud and very happy, I thought it would go to penalties, Iniesta saved us," said Raul, 18. "We deserved it after winning the European championship in 2008."

Said Adolfo, 25, "It's an extraordinary feeling, of happiness and nerves."

Others crammed into bars or gathered at home for the match, which left the country paralysed for two and a half hours Sunday evening.

Most were either wrapped in the Spanish flag, wore the red team shirts or red wigs, or had their faces painted red and gold.

One young woman was disguised as an octopus, in tribute to Paul, the now famous clairvoyant cephalopod in Germany who predicted Spain's victory.

"Spain, Spain, Spain!" screamed the daily El Mundo in a headline on its website. "This World Cup has crowned one of the best teams of all time."

(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.)

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(Agencies)