5 reasons why Spain was eliminated early from the World Cup

With the defeat against Chile, Spain became the 5th defending champion in World Cup history to be eliminated right after the group stage. AFP gave 5 reasons why "La Furia Roja" said goodbye to the game in Brazil early.

The Golden Age of Spain is over

Rejuvenation too late

After the 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands, coach Vicente del Bosque was forced to react and he removed both Xavi and Pique from the starting line-up against Chile, replacing them with Pedro and Javi Martinez. But the rejuvenation process in Spain should have started sooner. Koke was a creative midfielder, full of energy and hunger for victory at Atletico Madrid but he was given his chance in the national team too late. The decision to put his faith in Iker Casillas was also a mistake. He may have captained great Spanish teams in the past but he has not been a starter at Real Madrid (in La Liga) and Del Bosque has no shortage of alternatives, even if Victor Valdes is absent.

Poor defense

If Iker Casillas is criticised for playing poorly, he can respond by saying that Spain’s defenders up front deserve criticism too. Remember, Spain’s success at the 2010 World Cup and EURO 2012 was built on a solid defence. No one inspires like Carles Puyol. Pique and Ramos have formed a reliable centre-back partnership in the past, but that is not the case in Brazil. Javi Martinez is not the right solution either, as the Chile game showed.

Choose Diego Costa

Once Vicente del Bosque had convinced Diego Costa to choose Spain over his birthplace of Brazil, it was clear that the Atletico Madrid star would be included in the starting line-up. The problem was that Spain had failed to integrate Costa into their style of play. To thrive, he needed the ball when he had space, but against Chile, Costa was often left out and closely marked by the South Americans' three centre-backs.

Not knowing how to adapt

Overall, Spain’s problem is that they are still relying too much on the style of play that has worked so well in previous major tournaments. That style of play was built on the style of play that Barca used to achieve great success under Guardiola. But Barca’s recent decline, as well as Guardiola’s Bayern Munich being crushed by Real Madrid’s speed and power in last season’s Champions League semi-final, shows that tiki-taka is coming to an end. Chile’s speed and pressing style of play has left Spain unsettled, constantly passing the ball wrong and unable to control the ball as they have in the past.

Play in South America

Winning the World Cup in South America is still an insurmountable challenge for European teams. The end of Spain's golden era began at the Maracana stadium a year ago when they lost to Brazil 0-3 in the final of the Confederations Cup and their decline has been continuous. Every South American team participating in this year's World Cup has received the full support of a large fan base, but when Spain faced Chile with the pressure to win, the majority of the fans in the Maracana stadium supported Chile, making them feel like they were playing at home.

According to Thethaovanhoa.vn