Fifa World Cup 2014: Chile sends world champions Spain packing

Holders Spain, who first showed signs of vulnerability at the Maracana a year ago, were eliminated from the World Cup on Wednesday when a 2-0 Group B defeat by Chile at the same stadium ended one of the greatest dynasties of the modern game.

On the day when Spain's King Juan Carlos signed his abdication papers, the country's footballers were forced off their throne as first-half goals from Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz earned Chile a stunning victory in front of tens of thousands of their ecstatic fans in a 74,000 crowd.

The South Americans reached the last 16 along with the Netherlands and confirmed the pre-World Cup talk that they could advance deep into the tournament with a brilliantly disciplined and inspired display against a tired-looking Spanish side who go out along with Australia.

The Dutch, who beat Spain 5-1 last Friday, and Chile each have six points and they meet in Sao Paulo on Monday. Spain face Australia in Curitiba bidding to avoid finishing bottom.

"We cannot complain we did not deserve to go out, they were better than us," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque told Spanish TV.

"The team showed character, we pressed forward but we had little luck in front of goal.

"We were certainly inferior to our rivals here at the finals. It is not the moment to think about the future. Little by little we will make the necessary assessments."

Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal, who had a fine match, was unsurprisingly in upbeat mood.

"Spain came with a lot of desperation after their first match, but we showed we are at a very good level," he said.

"We didn't come for a holiday, we came to fight for the championship."

Spain became the third champions in the last four World Cups to be eliminated at the first hurdle and their departure will almost certainly end the long international careers of their greats Xavi, goalkeeper Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso.

Xavi, for so long the fulcrum of the side that won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships and their first World Cup in South Africa four years ago, did not even make the starting lineup after the Dutch debacle.

SHARP AND COMPOSED

In contrast, Chile, who had never beaten Spain in 10 previous meetings, looked sharp and confident from the start and even faster and more fluid in the second half.

With more composure in front of goal following a series of rapid-fire counter-attacks, they could easily have scored more, confirming the suspicion first raised at the Maracana a year ago when Brazil crushed Spain 3-0 in the Confederations Cup final.

At the time that seemed a possible dress rehearsal for the World Cup final, but Spain never hinted they could win this match let alone the tournament on a night that belonged to Chile, a former colony of the Spanish crown.

The Chileans swept into the lead after 20 minutes following a counter-attack on the right which set up Aranguiz to provide the cross for Vargas who danced around Casillas before firing home.

Casillas, who had a poor game against the Dutch, was at fault again for the second goal, punching an Alexis Sanchez free kick straight back to Aranguiz who swept the ball past Casillas with a spinning shot with the outside of his right foot.

Spain had their chances, notably through Sergio Ramos and Jordi Alba late in the game, but never remotely looked like saving the match.

PIQUE, XAVI AXED

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque axed Gerard Pique and Xavi Hernandez from his starting XI for the World Cup Group B game against Chile in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

The Barcelona pair, centre-back Pique and long-serving midfielder Xavi, paid the price after defending champions Spain were humiliated 5-1 by the Netherlands in their opening game on Friday.

Javi Martinez of Bayern Munich took over from Pique alongside Sergio Ramos in central defence at the Maracana, while Xavi was replaced by his Barcelona colleague Pedro Rodriguez.

Del Bosque kept faith with captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas despite the veteran Real Madrid shot-stopper producing an error-strewn performance against the Dutch, for which he later issued an apology.

Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli made one change to the team that beat Australia 3-1 on Friday, with Osasuna midfielder Francisco Silva coming in for Palmeiras playmaker Jorge Valdivia.

Teams for Wednesday's 2014 World Cup Group B match between Spain and Chile at the Maracana, Rio.

Spain: 1-Iker Casillas; 22-Cesar Azpilicueta, 15-Sergio Ramos, 4-Javi Martinez, 18-Jordi Alba; 14-Xabi Alonso, 16-Sergio Busquets, 21-David Silva, 6-Andres Iniesta; 11-Pedro, 19-Diego Costa

Substitutes: 2-Raul Albiol, 3-Gerard Pique, 5-Juanfran, 7-David Villa, 8-Xavi, 9-Fernando Torres, 10-Cesc Fabregas, 12-David De Gea, 13-Juan Mata, 17-Koke, 20-Santi Cazorla, 23-Pepe Reina

Chile: 1-Claudio Bravo; 4-Mauricio Isla, 17-Gary Medel, 18-Gonzalo Jara, 2-Eugenio Mena; 20-Charles Aranguiz, 21-Marcelo Diaz, 5-Francisco Silva, 8-Arturo Vidal; 7-Alexis Sanchez, 11-Eduardo Vargas

Substitutes: 3-Miiko Albornoz, 6-Carlos Carmona, 9-Mauricio Pinilla, 10-Jorge Valdivia, 12-Cristopher Toselli, 13-Jose Rojas, 14-Fabian Orellana, 15-Jean Beausejour, 16-Felipe Gutierrez, 19-Jose Pedro Fuenzalida, 22-Esteban Paredes, 23-Johnny Herrera

Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)

PREVIEW

Defending champions Spain could be knocked out of the World Cup Wednesday if they crash and burn against Chile at the Maracana stadium, the spiritual home of the Brazilian game.

Humiliated 5-1 by the Netherlands in their opening Group B game, the 2010 winners and two-time European champions, will be doomed if they lose to Chile and the Dutch avoid defeat to Australia earlier in the day in Porto Alegre.

Only three defending champions have previously fallen at the first hurdle - Brazil in 1966, France in 2002, and Italy in 2010.

No defending champions have ever been eliminated after only two games of the first phase, putting Spain at risk of the earliest exit in history.

"Chile are a difficult team because we'll have to defend and we'll have to fight one against one," said Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta, scorer of the decisive extra-time goal against Holland in the 2010 final.

"We must be able to make the right passes, and look for those in space, so we can score goals."

Chile won 3-1 against Australia in their first game and coach Jorge Sampaoli has admitted that Spain's capitulation to the Dutch will influence his side's approach to the game.

"We had already developed a system before the World Cup and we already knew how we'd play against Spain," said the Argentine, whose side have lost only twice in their last 16 games.

"Obviously after watching Spain against Holland, we've considered minor changes, but Spain didn't deserve such a defeat."

He cautioned: "Don't forget they lost against Switzerland in their opening game at the last World Cup, but still became champions."

Sampaoli will wait until just before kick-off at 4pm (1900 GMT) before deciding whether to hand a start to Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal, who is recovering from knee surgery and managed only 60 minutes against Australia.

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