Spain 0 Chile 2 The reign of Spain ends mainly in disdain

The World Cup is just seven days old and the holders are already on their way home.

Spain, not only champions of the world but also winners of the last two European Championships, were dumped out of the competition after yet another horror-show performance.

Chile were magnificent the best team display so far seen in Brazil and must now be treated as serious players in this World Cup.

Goals by Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz settled the game before half-time and there was simply nothing Spain could do about it.

The defeat wasn’t as heavy as the one they suffered against Holland in the opening game, but in many ways it was more emphatic.

They at least bossed the first half against the Dutch. Here, there wasn’t any period when they looked in control of the game.

Chile worked harder, were much better organised and looked a real team. Spain looked like a rag-tag bunch of individuals who had forgotten what made them the most successful international side of this century.

Rarely, if ever, has a World Cup been defended so limply.

Though Xavi and Gerard Pique were the high-profile casualties of Vicente del Bosque’s changes, it was the decision to retain Iker Casillas in goal after his shocker against the Dutch that was to backfire on the manager and ensure the career of Spain’s greatest ever goalkeeper would always be remembered for his catalogue of errors in Brazil.

The nerves were obvious in the Spanish defence from the opening two minutes as Xabi Alonso almost deflected in an own goal then Gonzalo Jara was allowed to head just wide.

When Chile keeper Claudio Bravo made brave stop from Alonso, it looked like the holders were beginning to hit their straps.

But the nightmare they suffered last Friday began all over again in the 20th minute.

Sloppy play by Alonso saw Chile break down the right flank and Aranguiz pulled the ball back superbly to set up Vargas, who took it away from Casillas and finished clinically.

Diego Costa hit the side-netting but with Cardiff’s Gary Medel marshalling Chile’s defence magnificently, Spain could barely lay a glove on them.

Then in the 43rd minute disaster became catastrophe as Casillas made another huge error, punching Alexis Sanchez’s routine free straight to the feet of Aranguiz, who slammed the ball straight back past him.

With Koke on at the break for the woefully out of touch Alonso, there was marginal improvement from Spain.

But you guessed this was not their night, or indeed their World Cup, when Sergio Busquets missed an absolute sitter in the 53rd minute after Costa’s overhead kick had found him unmarked at the far post.

Mauricio Isla almost extended Chile’s lead in the 68th minute as he stretched to reach Eugenio Mena’s cross-shot but couldn’t keep the ball down.

As Spain’s fate became increasingly more certain, Bravo did have to make saves from substitute Santi Cazorla and Andres Iniesta late on but by then the flights back to Madrid next week were already being booked.