Spain 0-2 Chile: The Bulls eliminated early.
Spain failed to bounce back after their humiliating defeat to the Netherlands. They even played worse in their 0-2 loss to Chile early this morning. The reigning world champions, La Roja, have become former champions!
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| Defending champions Spain were eliminated in the group stage. |
GOAL
Chile: E. Vargas (20'), C. Aranguiz (43')
Many promises from coach Del Bosque and his team, high expectations from fans, and many changes were anticipated to help Spain regain their former glory before this match. But nothing happened. It's true that Coach Del Bosque made some changes, leaving Pique and Xavi on the bench and starting Javi Martinez and Pedro. However, Spain's stagnant play and low morale remained unchanged.
Spain should have conceded a goal in the opening minutes of the match. Their sleepy defense allowed Eduardo Vargas and Gonzalo Jara both to have clear shots inside the penalty area, but neither hit the target.
La Roja not only displayed a stagnant style of play and sloppy defense, but also squandered opportunities. Alonso and Costa had a series of excellent chances to score inside the penalty area, but perhaps the fear of elimination and a lack of desire caused those opportunities to slip through their fingers, most notably Alonso's one-on-one chance with the Chilean goalkeeper in the 15th minute.
La Roja's lax defense allowed Chile, despite not attacking particularly strongly, to score two goals quite easily. In the 20th minute, a simple combination of just three Chilean players was enough to break through the Spanish defense. This situation culminated in a pass from Charles Arynguiz to Vargas in the penalty area, before the Valencia striker dribbled past Casillas to slot the ball into the empty net.
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| Aranguiz's hero with 1 goal and 1 assist. |
After scoring the opening goal, Chile remained cautious, but Spain created another scoring opportunity for them. In the 43rd minute, from a free kick taken by Sanchez, Casillas pushed the ball right to Arynguiz's feet, and the midfielder quickly finished with the tip of his boot, leaving Casillas with no chance but to pick the ball out of the net once again.
Spain wasn't without opportunities to overcome their difficulties. But for some inexplicable reason, Spain's superstars couldn't score from their clear chances. After several missed opportunities in the first half, they continued to squander even better chances at the beginning of the second half. Diego Costa, usually sharp and powerful at Atletico, was surprisingly slow and clumsy in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in the 49th minute. And in the 53rd minute, Busquets tapped the ball from close range with the goal almost empty, but inexplicably sent it wide of the post.
Spain almost surrendered to fate, missing clear-cut opportunities. They were just wandering shadows in red shirts on the pitch. Without luck, Spain could have conceded even more goals in the final minutes of the second half.
However, the 0-2 defeat was still a humiliating blow for La Roja. The reigning world champions were officially eliminated after only two group stage matches, becoming former champions. This result also effectively sealed the fate of Group B, with the Netherlands and Chile securing the two qualifying spots. Spain and Australia will be heading home early.
STARTING LINEUP
Spain: Casillas; Azpilicueta, J.Martinez, Ramos, Alba; Busquets, Alonso (Koke, 46'); Iniesta, Silva, Pedro (Cazorla, 76'); D. Costa (Torres, 64').
Chile: Bravo; Silva, Jara, Medel; Isla, Diaz, Aranguiz (Gutierrez, 64'), Mena; Vidal (Carmona, 88'); Sanchez, Vargas (Valdivia, 85').
