Chile Eliminates Defending Champion Spain from World Cup

Chile has eliminated defending champion Spain from the World Cup, beating the Spanish 2-0 in a key Group B match Wednesday.

At Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Spain suffered its second loss of the tournament after falling in demonstrative fashion to the Netherlands last week, 5-1.

The win assured Chile and the Netherlands of spots in the Round of 16, also known as the "knockout round." Both countries have six points, the most in Group B, but the Dutch are ahead on goal difference with plus-five to Chile's plus-two.

Chile scored both of its goals in the first half. Eduardo Vargas tricked Spanish goalie Iker Casillas and shot into an unguarded net in the 20th minute. Charles Aranguiz doubled the lead in the 43rd minute when the ball landed at his feet after Casillas punched out a free kick.

Spain has now been outscored, 7-1, in the World Cup..

Earlier Wednesday, the Netherlands added three points with a 3-2 win over Australia.  The Asssies, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, took a 2-1 lead in the 51st minute with a goal by Mile Jedinak, but the Dutch overpowered them with two goals in the next 15 minutes.

Before Chile played Spain, more than 100 Chilean fans stormed the Maracana media center in hopes of getting into the stadium. Security officers surrounded the group and led many of them away.

The final match Wednesday features Croatia and Cameroon, two Group A teams that lost their opening games and need a good result to keep their World Cup dreams alive.

In other news, Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to be in Brazil for the end of the World Cup. He will take part in a handover ceremony after the tournament championship game on July 13. Russia will host the next World Cup in 2018.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters.