RIO DE JANEIRO
The king is dead. The World Cup will have a new champion.
Just like France in 2002 and Italy in 2010, defending champion is Spain is going home with its tail between its legs after losing 2-0 to Chile on Wednesday.
Chile and the Netherlands, the other winner Wednesday, look like good prospects to take the throne.
The Netherlands made the Spanish look vulnerable, and Chile delivered the mortal blow to an uninterrupted six-year era of dominance for the European and world champions whose dazzling footballers ran out of puff in Brazil.
Fevered Chilean supporters rocked the Maracana Stadium with chants of “Chile, we love you!” They will be able to recount how they saw their team put two goals without reply past one of the greatest teams global football ever has seen.
Demolishing Spain 5-1 last week showed the Dutch can be spectacular. Toughing out a come-from-behind 3-2 victory against Australia on Wednesday showed them to also be cool and resilient under pressure – vital qualities for the knockout rounds that will start June 28.
With no points from its first two games, Spain only will play for pride when it meets Australia – also 0-2 – in their final Group B match Monday.
Then it will be “adios” and a return home to the inevitable postmortem of how a team that played like clockwork in defending its European title two years ago could fall so far, so quickly.
In Brazil, the advancing age of key players, grievous mistakes from goalkeeping captain Iker Casillas and others, and head coach Vicente del Bosque’s failure to read the writing on the wall fatally threw the Spanish machine out of gear.
But Spain’s demise also was a reminder of how fiendishly difficult it is to retain the World Cup and for coaches to keep teams fresh and motivated in the four-year gap between tournaments.
Only Italy – winners in 1934 and 1938 – and Brazil – champions in 1958 and 1962 – have won back-to-back World Cups.
Croatia 4, Cameroon 0
MANAUS, Brazil – Mario Mandzukic scored two goals Wednesday to keep Croatia in the mix at the World Cup with a four-goal shutout over 10-man Cameroon, which now cannot advance from the group stage.
Mandzukic, who returned to the team at the Arena da Amazonia after sitting out the opening loss to Brazil through suspension, headed in a corner from Danijel Pranjic in the 61st minute, then knocked in a rebound in the 73rd of the Group A game.
Ivan Perisic also scored one goal and assisted another for Ivica Olic.
Cameroon was reduced to 10 men after midfielder Alex Song was given a red card for elbowing Mandzukic in the back in an off-the-ball incident in the 40th minute.
The team started without the injured Samuel Eto’o, the team’s best player.
Croatia now has its future in its own hands.
