Rio de Janeiro, June 19: Three teams were eliminated from the 2014 Fifa World Cup on Wednesday, leaving 29 countries in the fray.

Schedule; News; Photos

The Netherlands beat Australia 3-2

The picture in Group B became clear by the results of the two matches that were played during the day. In the first match of the group, 2010 finalists Netherlands continued with their good form to beat Australia 3-2, although the latter did not give up the fight till the final whistle went off.

In an absorbing match [read report here] played at Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, the Dutch took lead twice to tame a spirited Australia. It was the second successive win for the Dutch after the 5-1 hammering of Spain and it comfortably took them to the second round with a match remaining. The heroes of the Netherlands' victory against Spain, Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie, scored in this match as well.

The elimination of Spain was the biggest shocker among the three teams

Chile beat Spain 2-0, send holders and Australia home

The other match of the group produced perhaps the biggest shock. It saw Chile handing over a 2-0 defeat [read report here] to defending champions Spain, knocking them out of the tournament in the process even before they completed their group matches. The loss meant Spain lost two matches in a row and Chile registering their second victory in as many matches. Chile's victory put them at six points along with the Netherlands while Spain and Australia were yet to open their accounts with one game left. The two will take on each other in their last league match on June 23.

Croatia defeat Cameroon 4-0

The third team to be eliminated during the day was Cameroon, who lost 0-4 [read report here] to Croatia in a Group A match at Arena da Amazônia in Manaus on Wednesday. The Indomitable Lions have never been the same force since their quarter-final loss to England in 1990 and have failed to cross the preliminary stage. In fact, out of the four World Cups they have appeared since 1990 (they missed out in 2006), the African side has finished last in the group three times.

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