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Spain are gone and their glorious era comes to a close. Spain dominated possession and created some chances but Chile were far more creative and clinical when they had the football and made Spain pay in the first half with two goals.
Sergio Busquets somehow missed a sitter from in front and that sums up Spain’s tournament. This means that Spain and Australia are the first teams to be eliminated from the World Cup.
Holland and Chile will now play for first spot in this group, and more importantly they face each other in a game that will determine which team will face the host nation Brazil in the round of sixteen.
FINAL SCORE:
Chile 2
Spain 0
Spain‘s World Cup defence got off to the worst possible start against the Netherlands, and they will be keen to bounce back strongly against the dangerous Chile. Join us for live scores and commentary from 5:00am AEST.
It’s do or die for the Spanish now following their poor 5-1 defeat to Holland.
taking a first-half lead through a Xabi Alonso penalty, Spain hardly created any more chances despite dominating possession.
The Netherlands on the other hand were far more clinical when they had possession, hurting the Spanish with their speed and creativity on the counter.
Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie tore Spain apart in the second half, and another tough night awaits for the reigning World Cup champions against Chile.
Chile suffered a scare against Australia en route to a 3-1 victory which puts them in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages.
Alexis Sanchez has the potential to hurt Spain on the counterattack given that the Spaniards have to make up a -4 goal deficit.
With this in mind, expect Chile to play on the break tonight. This is when they are at their best. Against the Socceroos, Chile were the team expected to come out and dominate possession, but they fell away badly after a good start as Australia threatened to get back into the contest.
Against Spain, Chile will sit comfortably at the back and wait for their opportunity to counter against a Spanish defence that lacks pace.
At the moment, Spain are guilty of passing too laterally. There is no speed to their build-up in attack, and the opposition defence often has plenty of time to regroup and man mark the likes of David Silva, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
With plenty on the line today, Spain can ill-afford to concede the first goal. If Chile score it, Spain will have to take risks and this will play right into Chile’s hands given how well they attack on the break.
While Spain should be expected to improve on their performance against the Dutch, the Chileans have the class and speed on the break to cause the upset.
Prediction: Chile 2-1