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Spain OUT of the World Cup with loss to Chile and Del Bosque admits he has no excuses

First team to be knocked out at Brazil 2014 is the one that arrived as holders - and their coach is left questioning his players' courage

pain boss Vicente del Bosque insisted he has no excuses after the defending champions were knocked out of the world cup

Going into Wednesday night's clash with Chile, the Spanish needed a win to stay in the competition after 

But goals from Eduardo Vargas and Charles Anguiz left delpain boss Vicente del Bosque insisted he has no excuses after the defending champions were knocked out of the World Cup.

Going into Wednesday night's clash with Chile, the Spanish needed a win to stay in the competition after their 5-1 hammering by Netherlands on Friday.

But goals from Eduardo Vargas and Charles Anguiz left Del Bosque's men in disarray and marked the end of an incredible six-year reign.

And after the game, Del Bosque admitted he never saw the shock exit coming and couldn't put his finger on why it happened.

He said: "I need some time to think things through, analyse what happened. We were training well before the tournament. The players tried their best but came up short.

"I never thought we'd be knocked out at the first phase. We had a very bad day against the Netherlands and started sluggishly today. Maybe we weren't brave enough."

Despite the defeat, Spain had a number of chances in Rio de Janeiro with the easiest falling to Sergio Busquets who scuffed wide.

But Del Bosque insists Chile deserved the win and he must now sit down and think of the next step for his conquered squad.

 men disarray and marked the end of an incredible six-year reign.

And after the game, Del Bosque admitted he never saw the shock exit coming and couldn't put his finger on why it happened.

He said: "I need some time to think things through, analyse what happened. We were training well before the tournament. The players tried their best but came up short.

"I never thought we'd be knocked out at the first phase. We had a very bad day against the Netherlands and started sluggishly today. Maybe we weren't brave enough."

Despite the defeat, Spain had a number of chances in Rio de Janeiro with the easiest falling to Sergio Busquets who scuffed wide.

But Del Bosque insists Chile deserved the win and he must now sit down and think of the next step for his conquered squad.

England captain Steven Gerrard will NOT speak to Uruguay's Luis Suarez 

England captain Steven Gerrard last night admitted he will not be speaking to Luis Suarez today as he prepares to kick him out of the World Cup.

England captain Steven Gerrard last night admitted he will not be speaking to Luis Suarez today as he prepares to kick him out of the World Cup.

The Liverpool captain is cutting off contact with his friend and Reds team-mate out of respect for the England side - and because there is so much riding on the match.

Gerrard, 34, revealed he will spend his last hours before the game studying Uruguay on his iPad and looking at their strengths and weaknesses.

After training at the Sao Paulo stadium, during which he momentarily appeared to be sat in prayer on the pitch, he said: "I think that the message I have given the team is quite clear.

"I have spoken to them through the week about pain of going out of World Cup, we want three points and to stay in as long as we can.

"I am sure the boys know how difficult a summer it will be if we fail at this stage."

Asked about his 'amigo' Suarez by a Uruguayan journalist, he added: "I am not going to speak to him in the hours before the game.

"It is disrespectful to my teammates, I have had some banter with him in run up but there will be no communication between us tomorrow."

He added: "I have said before and I will say it again - Luis is a genius, a wonderful player, and it is a boost for the team and their supporters to have him back, have huge respect for them as a team and him as an individual but we have a plan in place to stop them."

Raheem Sterling is very young, but everyone can see his potential, he seems to be growing with every game, he was fantastic against Italy, he has great pace, he is very skilful, and my prediction is that he will get many many caps and be a big player for England."

Hodgson, 66, welcomed the cooler weather and even the possibility of rain.

But he admitted the big fear is going out of the competition early.

"You don't learn lessons form being eliminated, we are taking the game extremely seriously, because we don't want to go out," he added.

He defended Rooney and said he had covered more ground than any other player against Italy.

He added: " With Wayne with Steven Gerrard, and Lampard, they are the players with World Cups and 100 plus caps, with Wayne he has more than 80 caps, and they get more pressure.

"Wayne he is more than happy to shoulder the burden and I am sure you will see it in his performance."

Psychologist Steve Peters has helped the England team prepare for the game, speaking three times with Wayne Rooney and also giving advice to Gerrard.

But Hodgson said he had not spoken to them specifically on how to deal with questions from the media on Suarez.

Gerrard added: "It is very difficultto forget about the game all together the night before.

"As captain I think about my own performance and I will go on the iPad studying the opposition but I am confident and believe in team mates, I am really looking forward to it, it will be a fantastic game for everyone to watch and hopefully we will come out with a win."

World Cup 2014: Chile supporters break into Maracana media

centre ahead of their clash with Spain

A group of Chile fans have broken into the Maracana media centre ahead of the clash with Spain this evening.

Around 50-100 supporters broke down a barrier and smashed through a glass door before storming the stadium in Rio de Janeiro in a desperate bid to catch a glimpse of the action.

TV's and walls were knocked over as staff fled the area, while security attempted to catch the fans.

The chaotic scenes were pictured and filmed, and soon uploaded on Twitter although there are no details on whether any injuries were sustained.

Tonight's clash is of huge significance to both sides with Spain needing a win to remain in the tournament, while Chile can secure their place in the knockout stages with three points.

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