"We dominated at all times with the exception of when we struggled and let in a goal," Del Bosque said. "At the end of the 90 minutes we were happy to hear the final whistle.
"We should have scored more and maybe we were tired and also as a result of winning 2-0, that affects the players, they start to slow down and that is why we suffered at the end."
Uruguay came back into the game in the second period but they rarely threatened Iker Casillas and Luis Suarez's goal in the 88th minute put a misleading complexion on the final result.
"We did almost everything well, we defended well, we recovered the ball well and we didn't leave them many options to create," Del Bosque said.
"They were well worth their victory," Tabarez said.
"They imposed themselves on us, especially during the first half and we didn't have the order to regain possession when necessary."
The first half could have been catastrophic for Uruguay, he added, and he appealed to the players' pride for their future Group B games against African champions Nigeria and surprise Oceania champions Tahiti.
"We rescued our dignity and in the second half it was a more logical game, even though Spain continued to be superior," he said.
Uruguay now face Nigeria in Salvador on Thursday and with Tahiti not expected to provide much of a challenge for the other sides, Tabarez said his team's tournament future will now depend on securing a result against the Africans.
"Our luck depends on the most important game, which is the next one and if we do that we can get into the final four."
