Brazil (Agencies): The Netherlands made a big statement on Friday in the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, tearing defending champion Spain apart to the tune of 5-1.
The final score may have been 10-1 and might never make up for what happened four years ago in South Africa, when Spain beat the Dutch to win the World Cup. But, surely, this had to feel cathardic for many of the players on this team who suffered that 1-0 loss in extra time in Soccer City in 2010.
And indeed it was two key players from that team, Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben who were the catalysts behind the trouncing.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first half following a dubious penalty kick awarded to Diego Costa, it was Van Persie who leveled the game at 1-1 with a wonderful headed finish that might still be standing as the goal of the tournament when it is all said and done. Van Persie had been probing the center back pairing of Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique throughout the first half with darting runs that had resulted in offside calls before hitting the right timing on the goal right before the end of the first half.
They say those goals right before the whistle are ‘psychological’ goals. This RVP gem certainly seemed to be.
Right after the break, it was Robben who also snuck behind the two Spanish center backs to put the Dutch ahead for good in the 53rd minute. His superb first touch put him in a great position to beat Casillas with the left foot he favors so much.
Then there was no looking back. Stefan De Vrij, who was called for the foul on Costa in the box earlier in the game, got his revenge by tapping home a ball that Casillas failed to control on a cross off a free kick that came across his six-yard box. Casillas, aided by several of his teammates would argue that he was fouled on the play by Van Persie, but all he would get for his efforts was a yellow card.
Then it was Van Persie, who again would victimize Casillas after the Real Madrid keeper’s heavy touch on a pass back to him got away. RVP would steal the ball and put the game to rest at 4-1.
While the game was decided at that point, but the Dutch were not done driving their point home. Robben’s streaking run past defenders and shifty moves to his left allowed him to put even more distance between his side and a Spanish team that seemed a shell of itself.
At full-time, both the Netherlands and Spain seemed to a huge distance away from those teams that played four years ago in South Africa.
