[19][20][22][23] A return match was arranged for the following January in Lisbon, also won by Portugal,[14][24][21] and which attracted attention when three local players refused to give the Roman salute before kick-off; they were initially imprisoned, but were soon released due to the political influence held by the hierarchy of the club they played for, Belenenses.
[10][25][13] In the run-up to the 1950 FIFA World Cup, Spain played two unofficial friendly matches against Mexico, minus the players taking part in the 1950 Copa del Generalísimo Final (including Athletic Bilbao's prolific goalscorer Zarra).
The fallout was a major contributory factor in Asturias and Real Club España, two of the most successful teams in Mexican football and both with strong links to Spain, withdrawing from the professional ranks.
[32] A few weeks later, the touring Hungária team (made up of players who had defected from the communist regimes in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, led by Ladislao Kubala)[33][34] played twice in Madrid against an approximation of the Spain World Cup squad, with the right-wing Franco government happy to co-operate with those fleeing from left-wing ideologies for political reasons.
A friendly match between Equatorial Guinea and Spain in November 2013[35] was declared void by FIFA a month later due to a procedural error in confirming the use of a local referee.