Australia, Spain to bid farewell to 2014 World Cup

Curitiba, June 22 (IANS/EFE) In a match that will not change anything in Group B, Australia and defending champions Spain will bid farewell to Brazil when they face-off at the Arena de Baixada here Monday.

Socceroos were able to put the Netherlands to the sword but a stunning shot from Memphis Depay finished the match for Oranje with a 3-2 win, meaning Australia's second loss in the group stage after losing to Chile 1-3 in their first game. Australia, as a consequence, were knocked out of the World Cup, reports EFE.

With only one goal scored and seven conceded in two matches, Spain's elimination was drastic after losing to the Netherlands and Chile 1-5 and 0-2, respectively.

It is expected that Spain's coach Vicente del Bosque will play with a team consisted of the likes of Juanfran Torres, Raul Albiol, Sergio Busquets, Koke, Xavi, Santi Cazorla, Juan Mata and David Villa, while the left back position is still undecided as Jordi Alba is widely expected not to play.

The Spanish players will look to prove Xabi Alonso wrong when he cited the downfall of La Roja Furia to reasons such as "lack of hunger" by the players by giving a credible performance against Australia in their last showdown in Brazil.

This hope might be marred after Del Bosque eliminated Fabregas off his starting lineup after the coach's dissatisfaction of his performance during training, giving his starting status against Australia to Xabi Alonso.

--IANS/EFE

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