Goals: Spain—Villa 36’ Torres 69’ Mata 82’

Recap: Spain managed to save face on Monday, defeating Australia 3-0 before gracefully bowing out of the 2014 World Cup.

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Lesson Learned: Vicente del Bosque rushed the inclusion of Diego Costa. The 25-year-old was already suffering from a nagging hamstring injury that forced him out of the UEFA Champions League final. His inability to fit the mold of this Spanish generation didn’t help matters, either. Villa is nowhere near the player he was in 2010, but with Spain facing elimination in Group B, some minutes for the team’s all-time leading scorer should’ve been an option. Unfortunately, it’s too late for that lesson to be learned.

Up Next: Spain returns home to begin preparations for the 2016 European Cup, while Australia begins to look forward to the 2015 Asian Cup.

Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).