FIFA World Cup: Holland humiliate defending champions Spain with a 5-1 win

FULL-TIME Spain have been humiliated by Holland. Four goals in the second half, Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie the heroes for Netherlands.

This is the heaviest defeat for a defending champion in an opening match

 

Further proof that Robin van Persie is The Flying Dutchman. #ESPvsNED #NED https://t.co/SmkrOOMcgd

— Alejandro (@Alej_Pal) June 13, 2014

90 + 3' Netherlands are just wasting time now, keeping the ball in possession as they soak in this crowd

90' Spain are now merely waiting for the final whistle. Netherlands though continue to look for the 6th goal. 

88' Casillas is doing his best to make amends for his mistakes this match, as he makes another beautiful save.

This is one of the most astonishing second-halves in World Cup history

87' Casillas makes two excellent stops to keep both Wijnaldum and Robben at bay. Robben cracks a glorious volley towards goal from 20 yards, catching it beautifully, but the Real Madrid shot-stopper dives across well to palm it away.

Tweets about "#ESPvsNED"

Robin van Persie has scored 10 goals in his last 9 appearances for Netherlands (@OptaJoe) pic.twitter.com/lIp2ZOROOM

— FIFA World Cup 2014 (@FIFAWorldCupTM) June 13, 2014

The last time Spain conceded so many goals was in 1963.

82' Less than ten minutes to go and the reigning champions don't appear to have any chance of even getting a point from their opening game

80' GOAL! Arjen Robben has put in another goal. He mocks the Spanish defence completely. Nobody expected this Spanish Inquisition. 5-1 to Netherlands

Netherlands were 0-1 down at the 27th minute. At the 72nd, they are 4-1 up. What an amazing turnaround.

72' GOAL! Robin Van Persie's 2nd goal. The goalkeeper tried to advance and tackle the ball, but van Persie intercepted him and kicked it into the goal

#Spain... You've been served... Again! #WorldCup https://t.co/rjHsug1pto

— Ashwin Mushran (@ashwinmushran) June 13, 2014

67' David Silva's goal disallowed as it was an offside  

65' Stefan de Vrij adds the third goal for the Dutch. Assist Wesley Sneijder and a yellow card for Van Persie

62' Fernando Torres comes on for Diego Costa

60' Van Persie's shot goes off the cross-bar

55' Spain under pressure after conceding the second goal

52' Arjen Robben gives the Dutch the all important lead in the match

50' Iniesta's efforts saved by the Dutch keeper Cillessen

48' Its raining cats and dogs in Salvador

Diego Costa "earning" a penalty. Another dive? #WorldCup #ESPvsNED https://t.co/qL6ETiOLTM via @vineapp

— Haythem Belhassen (@krolewskie) June 13, 2014

The players are back on the field for the second half

HALF-TIME Netherlands have equalised via Robin Van Persie in the 44th minute to set up an exciting second half against the run of play

44' WHAT A HEADER! What a header from Robin Van Persie. Netherlands have equalised against the run of play. Van Persie jumps in the air and puts a header in mid-air straight into the goal. That was incredible, Daley Blind picked out a fantastic early cross, but Persie intercepted Casillas.

26' Penalty to Xabi Alonso!

GOAL! Xabi Alonso gets the penalty and the diving Netherlands keeper can do nothing to stop the goal, which is slammed into the bottom left corner.

22' Spain have had the majority of the possession, but the Netherlands defence has been very strong

20' Netherlands are playing a very good defensive game here

18' The Netherlands have three central defenders, despite only Diego Costa attacking for Spain

15' The first 15 minutes have seen Netherlands get many chances, though they have not been able to convert it into a goal

10' Iniesta cuts out from the left hand side after being intercepted by Alonso. But Iniesta, who had set himself, can only hammer a powerful effort over the crossbar

9' Good save! Sneijder is threaded through on goal, haring away from the turned Spanish defence, before fluffing his lines! Casillas comes out to narrow the angle, but Sneijder can only fire his eventual shot directly at Sneijder

7' Robin van Persie is nearly put through on goal by an early long ball, but Pique does just enough to steer the pass back to Casillas.

5' A few boos and jeers for Diego Costa in the first few minutes

We are underway in the first half

And now the national anthems are underway

The two teams emerge from the tunnel for the national anthems

Ten minutes left for kick off now

Spain v/s Netherlands is set to begin at 12:30 am IST. This is a rematch from the 2010 World Cup Final.

The team lineups for both sides have been announced. You can access them here

Spain's opening World Cup match against Netherlands is probably the most awaited match of the Group Stages. The opening matches between the two is a replay of the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals, which Spain won 1-0.

Spain, currently ranked No.1 in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings, will be looking forward to retain the World Cup trophy. If Spain are able to do so, they will be the third team ever to retain the World Cup (Italy and Brazil are the only teams to successfully retain the World Cup).

It would take a brave man to predict the end of the runnaway success that Spain enjoyed during Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 as they tika-taka-tortured their way to unprecedented glory. At the 2014 World Cup they fight for a fourth straight international tournament win and along with hosts Brazil will be the favourites.

Spain full team profile

Spain v/s Netherlands match preview 

The Netherlands national football team represents the Netherlands in international association football. It is controlled by the KNVB, the governing body for football in the Netherlands. The team is colloquially referred to as Het Nederlands Elftal (The Dutch Eleven) and Oranje, after the House of Oranje-Nassau. The Dutch hold the record for playing the most World Cup finals without ever winning the tournament.

Netherlands full team profile

Also read this interesting perspective from a fan on why he does not support Spain