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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Defending champion Spain, the dominant global football power for the past six years, was eliminated from World Cup contention Wednesday with a 2-0 loss to Chile.

Spain's famed passing game failed against a high-tempo, tenacious Chile team, its era ending in the storied Maracana Stadium filled mostly with noisy Chilean supporters.

Eduardo Vargas tricked goalkeeper Iker Casillas into diving the wrong way, then shot into an unguarded goal in the 20th minute. Charles Aranguiz scored in the 43rd when the ball landed at his feet after Casillas punched out a free kick.

"I only ask fans for forgiveness, we did everything we could," said Casillas, who lifted the World Cup trophy four years ago.

Spain's second loss, after a 5-1 rout by the Netherlands, ended any hope of advancing. Chile and the Netherlands will both make it to the knockout stage regardless of who wins the game between them Monday, which will only decide the Group B winner.

Spain won the European Championship in 2008 and 2012, in addition to the 2010 World Cup.

Perhaps the Euro 2012 final was the footballing high point of the era: A 4-0 dismantling of Italy on a similarly balmy evening in Kiev, Ukraine

Spain came to Brazil with a very similar — but older — team to the one that won those titles. They added Brazilian-born striker Diego Costa, but he failed to score a goal and was substituted in both matches.

"We have no excuses," said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque. "We were too slow, timid from the start today. It's a sad day for all of the players. Time to think about the future."

Spain's "tiki-taka" style of play — keeping the ball for long stretches with short passes, and only shooting when you had a clear opening — had not been working as well in recent years. Brazil defeated Spain 3-0 in last summer's Confederations Cup, a warm-up for the World Cup.

The stars who had made the system go are still on the team, but they've clearly lost some speed and their connections haven't been as sharp. Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez, who often delivered the key pass, didn't play Wednesday.

Spain became the third straight European defending World Cup champion to flop in the group stage. France in 2002 and Italy four years ago also failed to advance, or even win a match.

Badly needing a win, del Bosque stayed loyal to captain Casillas despite the veteran goalkeeper's errors against the Dutch.

But two pillars of Spain's title runs, Hernandez and Barcelona teammate Gerard Pique were left out, despite 194 combined appearances.

Xabi Alonso probably should have joined them. His agonizing first half typified Spain's problems and his errors led to both goals.

And Alonso's selection left a younger version of his former self, Atletico Madrid's Koke, on the bench until the logical change was made at halftime.

Alonso gave away the ball to Alexis Sanchez to start a move down Chile's right wing by Arturo Vidal and Aranguiz, leading to Vargas' score. Alonso trailed behind the play and put his hands to his head.

Alonso was booked in the 40th before conceding another foul, on Sanchez, three minutes later 22 yards (meters) out.

When Casillas punched away Sanchez's curling free kick, Aranguiz trapped the ball then flicked a rising shot spinning away from the goalkeeper's reach.

Alonso had Spain's best early chance, a 15th-minute shot smothered by Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

Often wayward in its passing, Spain missed two clear chances early in the second half.

Costa was slow on Andres Iniesta's threaded pass in the 49th, and Sergio Busquets was guilty of a glaring miss, volleying wide from five meters in the 53rd.

After Bravo pushed away shots by substitute Santi Cazorla and Iniesta, Chile's win was sealed.

Asked if it marked the end of an era, Casillas said: "We'll focus on the good things this team did."

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Lineups:

Spain: Iker Casillas, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jordi Alba, Sergio Ramos, Javi Martinez, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso (Koke, 46), Andres Iniesta, David Silva, Pedro Rodriguez (Santi Cazorla, 76), Diego Costa (Fernando Torres, 64).

Chile: Claudio Bravo, Mauricio Isla, Eugenio Mena, Francisco Silva, Gary Medel, Gonzalo Jara, Charles Aranguiz (Felipe Gutierrez, 64), Marcelo Diaz, Arturo Vidal (Carlos Carmona, 88), Alexis Sanchez, Eduardo Vargas (Jorge Valdivia, 85).

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PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) — Louis van Gaal can pinpoint the moment he knew his Netherlands team would be able to hold off Australia and secure the win that ultimately put them through to the knockout rounds of the World Cup.

With just over 20 minutes to go in a frantic, seesawing match, Australia missed a golden chance to take a 3-2 lead.

Sitting on the bench, van Gaal saw that as the sign and turned to his assistant coaches to tell them.

"I said to Patrick Kluivert and Danny Blind, 'We're going to win this match because if they miss that kind of chance, we will score the goal.'"

Seconds later, he was proved right. From the very next attack, substitute Memphis Depay drove a swerving, speculative shot toward the goal from 25 yards. Australian goalkeeper Maty Ryan didn't sight it early enough and the ball shot past his outstretched right hand.

It capped a game that intensified suddenly when a 20th- minute solo run and strike by Arjen Robben was cancelled out seconds later by a stunning volley from Australia's inspirational veteran Tim Cahill.

Australia then went ahead with a second-half penalty, only for Robin Van Persie to equalize four minutes later.

The result left the Netherlands, which thrashed defending champion Spain 5-1 in its opening game, on the verge of advancing from Group B. That was confirmed a few hours later when Chile beat Spain, knocking the 2010 World Cup winners and Australia out of contention.

"Bitterly disappointing," Australia manager Ange Postecoglou said. "Just for the players, they were magnificent. They took it to a world-class team. Full credit to them, but I just feel bitterly disappointed they weren't able to get some reward out of it today. We came to this World Cup and we're playing against three of the best nations in the world."

When Robben opened the scoring, giving him a third goal for the tournament, another rout seemed to be in the works. But that was only for only a matter seconds, with Australia equalizing after Ryan McGowan sent a long, looping pass from the midfield to Cahill, who volleyed over Jasper Cillessen onto the underside of the bar in one of the best goals of the tournament so far.

Mark Bresciano and Matthew Spiranovic missed chances that could have given the Socceroos a halftime lead.

Just before the interval, Cahill needlessly clattered into the back of Bruno Martins Indi and was given a yellow card. He was also booked in Australia's opening 3-1 loss to Chile, meaning he may have played his last World Cup game. Martins Indi was helped off the field, replaced by Depay to start the second half, and later taken to a hospital with a suspected concussion.

At the start of the second half, Netherlands changed from a 5-3-2 system that worked so well against Spain to a more traditional Dutch 4-3-3 style to incorporate Depay, but it was Australia which took the surprise lead with a penalty after Daryl Janmaat handled the ball in the area.

Mile Jedinak converted from the spot in the 54th but Van Persie leveled again four minutes later. He later received his second yellow for the tournament, ruling him out of Netherlands' last group match against Chile.

Australia's best change to regain the lead was in the 68th minute. Tommy Oar had a shooting opportunity down on the left hand side of goal but chose to cross to Mathew Leckie, who could only chest the ball toward the keeper. Depay's goal seconds later was his first for his country.

"Most games are decided on moments and we had out moments," Postecoglou said. "We could have gone 3-2 up and we really had momentum at that time. And unfortunately Matty Lekic just couldn't get the right purchase on it to put it away."

Lineups:

Australia: Mat Ryan, Ryan McGowan, Jason Davidson, Matthew Spiranovic, Alex Wilkinson, Matt McKay, Mile Jedinak, Mark Bresciano (Oliver Bozanic, 51), Matthew Leckie, Tommy Oar (Adam Taggart, 77), Tim Cahill (Ben Halloran, 69).

Netherlands: Jasper Cillessen, Daryl Janmaat, Daley Blind, Bruno Martins Indi (Memphis Depay, 45), Ron Vlaar, Stefan de Vrij, Nigel de Jong, Jonathan de Guzman (Giorginio Wijnaldum, 78), Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie (Jeremain Lens, 87).

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The new president of Ukraine promised on Wednesday that government troops would soon stop firing on pro-Russian armed separatists, offering a chance to end the fighting that has killed hundreds and wracked the industrial east.

In another concession to Moscow, Petro Poroshenko replaced his foreign minister, who had outraged Russians by using an obscenity to describe President Vladimir Putin.

An end to the two months of fighting and a promised safe exit for rebels would allow Putin to say that Russia has fulfilled its goal of protecting Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine, while Poroshenko can claim victory over the rebellion.

The Ukrainian president discussed his plan for a unilateral cease-fire in a phone call with Putin late Tuesday, their offices said, and Poroshenko also spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Russia's foreign minister cautiously welcomed the move, but voiced concern that it could be a ruse. One key question is whether Moscow is willing and able to persuade the pro-Russia insurgents to accept Poroshenko's plan.

Rebel leaders have remained defiant, but in a sign of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, some of them visited Moscow this week to meet with senior officials and lawmakers.

The two sides managed to arrange a brief truce Wednesday evening in the eastern town of Karlivka to allow pro-Russian forces to hand over the bodies of 49 Ukrainian troops who died when the separatists shot down a transport plane bound for the airport in Luhansk last weekend.

But after the truck carrying the remains had passed to the Ukrainian side, both sides fell back to their respective positions. A pro-Russian fighter, whose face was covered with a bandanna and identified himself only by his nom-de-guerre, Sova, said the cease-fire was over. "The war will go on until we win," he said.

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic called Poroshenko's cease-fire announcement "a timely initiative." But he stressed that it was "a real challenge" because U.N. human rights monitors in eastern Ukraine believe there are at least three distinct armed groups that don't fully coordinate.

"This may represent a problem because some of them might be adhering to cease-fires, some not," Simonovic told the International Peace Institute in New York.

If successful, the plan could help ease the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War, a situation triggered by Moscow's annexation of Crimea in March following the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russia president.

Poroshenko didn't say when the cease-fire could be declared, but the defense minister, Mykhailo Koval, was quoted as saying it could begin "within days."

"The plan will begin with my order for a unilateral cease-fire," Poroshenko told reporters in Kiev. "I can say that the period of the cease-fire will be rather short. We anticipate that immediately after this the disarming of the illegal military formations will take place."

He said those separatists who lay down their weapons and haven't committed grave crimes would be granted amnesty and a corridor to leave the country if they chose to do so.

Putin has welcomed Poroshenko's peace initiative in an apparent hope that de-escalating tensions with the West would help Russia avoid another round of crippling economic sanctions. Still, embracing the plan would require a delicate balancing act for the Kremlin, which is facing rising demands from Russian nationalists to send troops into Ukraine.

Poroshenko said a cease-fire should follow securing the border with Russia, and Ukrainian officials said Wednesday they were completing the effort. Despite their optimistic statements, sealing the roughly 2,000-kilometer (1,200-mile) border could be a challenging task for the nation's ill-equipped and badly organized armed forces.

Russia has denied Ukrainian and Western claims that it has fomented the insurgency by sending troops and weapons, insisting that Russian citizens among the rebels are volunteers.

Poroshenko made repeated promises to restore peace before and after winning May's election, but Wednesday was the first time he said government forces would be the first to halt hostilities, which has been Russia's main demand.

Denis Pushilin, an insurgent leader in Donetsk, told Russian independent Dozhd television that Poroshenko's latest offer was "senseless."

"They cease fire, we lay down weapons, and then they will capture us weaponless," he said.

Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, speaking in Baku, Azerbaijan, said any cease-fire should be "comprehensive" not temporary. He said if it was followed by negotiations "then it could be the step President Poroshenko has promised and which in general we were all waiting for."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew also expressed backing for the plan during a stop in Jerusalem.

"We call on Russia to support President Poroshenko's peace plan and to cease support for militants and separatists who are further destabilizing the situation and to stop the provision of arms and materiel across the border," he said.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. commended the Ukrainian government for "good-faith efforts."

In another move that would help appease Moscow, Poroshenko nominated Pavlo Klimkin, the ambassador to Germany, to replace Andriy Deshchytsia as foreign minister. Lavrov had said he would never speak again to Deshchytsia after he used an especially crude obscenity to describe Putin as he tried to calm protesters who besieged the Russian Embassy in Kiev last weekend.

If Poroshenko's plan succeeds, it would allow him to consolidate his power and help set the stage for the early parliamentary election he wants.

For Ukraine, an end to hostilities in the east is essential as it tries to shore up its economy, which is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. It's also key to mending the rift between the eastern regions, where most residents want close ties with Russia, and the west, where the majority wants a quick integration into Europe.

It would not end Russian pressure on Ukraine. Russia's state-owned Gazprom has cut off gas supplies in a dispute over prices and debts. Ukraine can manage for a few months on stored supplies, but by fall will need more gas ahead of the winter heating season.

While Russia has insisted that it wasn't controlling the rebellion, some of its leaders appear to have high-level connections in Moscow. Alexander Borodai, a Moscow political consultant, is now the self-proclaimed prime minister of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, which has declared independence in eastern Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Borodai attended a meeting with members of the Russian parliament's upper house, thanking Russia for "a steady flow of volunteers coming from Russia who fight for the interests of people of Donbass." At the same time, he acknowledged that "part of the Russian establishment does not want Donbass and other regions of Ukraine to join Russia."

At least 356 people, including 257 civilians, have been killed since May 7 in the fighting and 34,000 have fled their homes, according to the U.N.

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Marko Drobnjakovic in Karlivka, Ukraine, Nataliya Vasilyeva and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Edith Lederer at the United Nations, John Heilprin in Geneva, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Alon Bernstein in Jerusalem contributed to this report.