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Spain, Australia close out World Cup journey Monday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 6/23/2014  at  5:34:00 AM
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2014 WORLD CUP SOCCER

AUSTRALIA


vs. SPAIN


Kickoff: Monday, 12:00 p.m. EDT
Arena Da Baixada – Curitiba, Brazil

Line:
Spain -256, Australia +550, Tie +425
Over/Under: 3 Goals (Over -115, Under -105)

Two teams that will be heading home after group play square off Monday afternoon when Australia takes on defending World Cup champion Spain.

Australia opened up group play with a 3-1 loss to Chile and headed into a must-win affair with Netherlands in their second game. The result of that game will leave some feeling nauseous, as Australia blew a one-goal lead in the second half and fell 3-2 and were eliminated from advancing in this tournament. Spain’s World Cup has been one of the most disappointing letdowns in the history of sports. After winning the tournament in 2010, the defending champions will wrap up their Cup journey on Monday after two humiliating defeats by a combined score of 7-1.

Australia lost its first game of group play and then set its sights on a matchup with Netherlands that they absolutely needed to win. After falling behind 1-0 at the game’s 20-minute mark on an Arjen Robben goal for Netherlands, Tim Cahill scored to even up the game 1-1 just a minute later. Australia would eventually take a 2-1 lead on a penalty-kick goal by Mile Jedinak at the 54-minute mark, but that would be the last goal Australia scored, while Netherlands answered with two of their own. The first goal was scored at the 58-minute mark and the game-winner came 10 minutes later. Australia lost the battle in both shots on goal (14-8) and time of possession (52% to 48%). They now play a meaningless match against Spain on Monday.

After an embarrassing 5-1 loss to Netherlands in their opening match of group play, Spain needed to win against Chile to keep its hopes alive in group play. Unfortunately for them, they were unable to find the back of the net. Despite completely dominating play against Chile, Spain left empty-handed in a 2-0 defeat. They won the time of possession battle, as they had the ball for 56% of the game compared to 44% for Chile. They also had nine shots on goal, which more than doubled the four of their opponents. Not finishing their opportunities will be the theme of the 2014 World Cup for Spain. They got themselves in positions to score, holding a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks, but they were unable to find the back of the net.


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