Spain exited the 2014 World Cup with something to celebrate following a convincing 0-3 victory over Australia, who finish bottom of group B.
Goals from David Villa on his final appearance for his national side aswell as strikes from Chelsea man Fernando Torres and former blue Juan Mata were enough to seal a consolation for their poor showing in this World Cup.
It was far from a vintage performance that has seen them dominate the international stage for the last 6 years, but they would go home with, almost, a good taste in their mouth following a convincing win.
Spain lined up with Fernando Torres upfront alongside David Villa, who would open the scoring following a poor first half hour of football with an improvised finish from Juanfran’s cutback. The recently signed New York City was playing his last game for his country after announcing his retirement from the international stage.
Fernando Torres added to the World Champions’ one goal lead ten minutes after the break after a classy pass from Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta. The troubled Chelsea man took one touch before showing the composure that Chelsea fans have not seen from him at Stamford Bridge for quite some time, tucking it past Matt Ryan into the bottom corner.
Finally, Cesc Fabregas, on as a 68th minute substitute in place of Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla wonderfully set up former Chelsea favourite Juan Mata with a cultured pass, before Mata slotted the ball through Ryan’s legs with equal composure to get Spain’s third and final goal of this years World Cup.
Australia will consider themselves unlucky to leave the competition without picking up a single point in their group after playing some decent football against teams far superior to themselves in terms of ranking.
The future of Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque now hangs in the balance after his side performed well below minimum expectations, however the Spanish FA have recently condemned his announcement that he is willing to resign his post. His side finished third in a group in which they were expected to progress from and possibly even successfully defend their World Cup title.
Elsewhere in the group, The Netherlands beat Chile 2-0 to top the group and set themselves up for the best draw possible in the first knowckout round.
