The 2010 world champions, the Spaniards, were among the top favorites for the World Cup in Brazil. The last major tournament at the national team level was also won by Spain (Euro 2012). However, at the tournament in Brazil, the first two matches of the group determined the end of the struggle for the main football trophy for the eminent Spaniards.
The Spanish national team, staffed by many world and European champions, played very obscure football at the World Cup in Brazil. Already in the first matches of Group B, the Spaniards conceded seven goals, scoring only one, and lost the chance to advance from the group to the decisive stage of the tournament.
Spain - Netherlands (1 - 5)
The Spanish national team played the first game of the championship with the team of the Netherlands. This match was expected by all football fans, regardless of preference. It was supposed to be a great match with outstanding quality of play, as spectators saw numerous stars of world football on the field in the city of El Salvador. As a result, only one team played a quality match. The Dutch destroyed the current world champions. After the end of the first half, the score was equal - 1 - 1. But in the second segment of the match, the Netherlands upset Casillas four times. At the same time, the Spanish team could not do anything about the failures in defense, and in the front line the attacking game did not work out at all. The disappointing result of the meeting alarmed the fans of Spain, but the latter hoped that the team would be able to get together and show their sparkling football.
Spain - Chile (0 - 2)
In the second match, the Spaniards no longer had the right to make a mistake. They were opposed by one of the best teams in South America - the national team of Chile. For South Americans, this game was also significant and important. As a result, Spain and in this match showed the inconsistency of claims to fight for high places at the 2014 World Cup. In the first half, the Chileans scored twice. In the second segment of the match, Spain tried to sharply attack. But when Busquets missed from a few meters into an empty net, it became clear that Spain did not leave the group. The team's level of play in this tournament turned out to be incomparable with other national teams in group B. Spain failed the entire world championship in the first two matches in the group. The last game with Australia does not solve anything.
It can be stated that at the 2014 World Cup, the era of the dominance of Spanish football has ended. A year ago, in the final of the Confederations Cup, the Brazilians defeated Spain 3 - 0. Barcelona have been replayed in the Champions League for the last two seasons. These were all bells before the upcoming World Cup. And now the most important bell sounded at the championship, which "buried" the once great team.
