World Cup 2014 Results: Spain Eliminated After 6-Year Reign; What Happened?

Spain is officially out of the 2014 World Cup after a devastating loss to Chile at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The final score was 2-0, marking the end of an era.

In a report by Sports Illustrated, Spain is the fifth champion to be ousted from the group stage. Spain had the advantage when it came to number of possessions. However, Chile employed the 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2 method which overcome the triangle offenses of Spain. Coach Vicente del Bosque decided to remove Gerard Pique and Xavi Hernandez after their terrible loss against the Netherlands with a final score of 5-1.

Chile was aggressive from the beginning. Spain also committed several mistakes which gave the upper hand to their opponents. In the 20th minute, Xabi Alonso turned the ball over. The ball went to Arranguiz in the penalty area. Arranguiz passed it to Vargas who kicked the ball powerfully past Iker Casillas. Spanish team captain Casillas committed another error in the 43rd minute when he gave the ball to Arranguiz from a free kick by Alexis Sanchez. Arranguiz kicked the ball into the net to score for Chile, according to NDTV Sports.

There were many reasons why the defending champions lost easily in their past two games. First is failure to adjust to change. The Spaniards chose to rely on old players like Iker Casillas, Xavi Hernandez and Gerard Pique when they had a lot of new talent to work with like Koke and others with more energy and passion. Second, Spain's defense was simply too loose. Even Javi Martinez could not contain the aggressiveness of Chile.

In an article by Rappler.com, it was almost evident that Spain would not go far into the tournament. A European nation never won the World Cup in an American continent before. In 2013, Spain lost in the Confederations Cup final at Maracana against Brazil with a final score of 3-0. Diego Costa could have made an impact but the team's style of play was too incompatible with Costa's. He needed more space to work with which apparently was not given to him by the Chilean team.

Overall, Spain continued to use the same type of approach in the past several years. It was the kind of approach that their opponents have been mastering to overcome in the months coming into the tournament. Spain also committed similar mistakes in the past such as bad passes and lack of speed and energy.