Spain Eliminated After Second Straight Defeat

(FIFA.com)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - After another poor performance, the defending World Cup Champions, Spain have been eliminated in the Group Stage in Brazil.  Spain is now only the fourth defending World Cup Champion to be eliminated in the Group Stage of the following World Cup.

Spain suffered their second consecutive loss on Wednesday to Chile, after previously losing to the Netherlands last week.  It is now impossible for Spain to advance to the Round of 16.

The 2-0 loss to Chile in Rio de Janeiro proved several issues with Spain and their defense.  The biggest of these is veteran keeper Iker Casillas who had two terrible games in the Group Stage.

Many fans and analysts alike were surprised that Casillas was chosen to start after conceding 5 goals against the Netherlands in the first match of the Group Stage.

Despite the extensive criticism of Spain, credit must also be given to both the Netherlands and Chile.  Chile took full advantage of playing in South America and a very large crowd.

A very loud group of Chilean fans made the environment very difficult for Spain.  Chile also had a high quality performance.

Goals by Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aránguiz lifted the Chileans over the Spanish who struggled with passing.

Spain could not find any attacking momentum and struggled to find Diego Costa before he was substituted for Fernando Torres in the 64th minute.  Spain also missed several good opportunities.

The best of Spain's opportunities came on a miss by Sergio Busquets who missed an easy tap in.  Spain's inability to produce goals is very surprising given their performance in their past tournaments.

Though both the Netherlands and Chile have already qualified for the Round of 16, the two sides will square off on Monday June 23, to decide the winner of their group.