PHOTOS: Chile end Spain's reign, qualify for second round

Defending champions Spain made an early exit from the World Cup after losing to Chile 0-2 at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

Only the fourth defending champions to exit the tournament at the first stage, they join Brazil (1966), France (2002) and Italy (2010) in the club of defending champions bowing out of the World Cup in the first round.

Spain join Australia, who lost to the Netherlands 2-3 in the earlier Group B match of the day, as the first teams to bow out of the tournament.

The Iberian country also earned the dubious distinction of making the earliest exit from a World Cup by a defending champion in history. No defending champion has ever been eliminated after only two games of the first phase.

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Eduardo Vargas put Chile ahead in the 20th minute before Charles Aranguiz made it 2-0 in the 43rd minute in front of the packed iconic Maracana stadium.

In the process, Chile avenged their 1-2 loss in the group match of the 2010 World Cup.

The winner of the group will now be decided after the match between Chile and the Netherlands on June 23 in Sao Paulo.

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The South Americans opened the scoring in the 20th minute.

Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso made a poor pass and Chile striker Alexis Sanchez intercepted the ball, burst forward and exchanged a brilliant one-two with Arturo Vidal, who put Charles Aranguiz in possession. The last-named relayed the ball to to Eduardo Vargas, who shot past Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

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Despite leading by a goal, Chile, who had never beaten Spain in 10 previous meetings, did not relax and maintained a sustained attack, tormenting the Spanish defence.

Aranguiz doubled their lead from a rebound after the ball landed at his feet when Casillas punched a free-kick from Alexis Sanchez.

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It turned out to be Spain's worst night as they did not have any answer to the aggressive and attacking football of Chile in the initial 45 minutes when they conceded both goals, and then played a chasing game in the second half.

At the last World Cup, Spain did lose their opening match but eventually bounced back and went on to win the title. This time, though, the campaign was disastrous. They were humiliated 1-5 by the Netherlands in their opening match, their worst defeat since the 1-6 loss to Brazil in the 1950 World Cup, and Chile in their second. 

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