Spain Vs. Netherlands Results And Highlights: Holland Beats Spain 5-1 Behind Two Goals From Robben And Van Persie [VIDEO]

There was a lot of excitement from around the world surrounding this game as fans of the beautiful game were treated to a rematch of the 2010 World Cup Final in South Africa. There were no real surprises in Spain or Holland’s lineup as the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets anchored Spain’s midfield and Sneijder, Robben and Van Persie featured for the “Oranje.” Despite a decent amount of Spanish fans in attendance, there was no denying the dominance of Orange in the crowd.

The first real chance came for the Dutch as Arjen Robben picked the ball up on the Dutch side of the half and played Wesley Sneijder clear on goal where he could only muster a shot directly at Spanish keeper Iker Casillas for an easy save. Spain’s first real chance came when Xavi played Diego Costa through only to have his shot brilliantly blocked by defender Ron Vlaar. The Dutch seemed to be wanting to set the tone early as there were a couple of late challenges coming from Nigel De Jong and Wesley Sneijder, both of whom were lucky to escape early yellow cards.

Spain broke the deadlock in the 27’ minute as Xabi Alonso put away his penalty attempt after Diego Costa was brought down in the box by defender De Vrij after a beautiful through ball from Xavi put him on goal. Some would say that it was coming as Spain began to settle into their game after the 20’ minute, holding possession and continuously looking for Costa up top. Spain had another pristine opportunity on 42’ minutes when Iniesta beautifully put David Silva through, only to have his chip shot blocked by keeper Cillessen. That would hurt the Spanish though as Robin van Persie evened the score on 44’ minutues by showing why he is one of the world’s best players and heading home from about 10 yards.

In total the first half got off to somewhat of a slow start as the Dutch wanted to slow the game down and instill their physicality on the smaller Spanish side. Spain did hold a good amount of possession and did have a bit of an edge but the Dutch looked dangerous on the counter.

Though there were no changes on the field once the second half started, the playing conditions were a bit different as it started to rain heavily during the intermission. It did not take long though the deadlock to be broken as Holland took the lead on 52’ minutes when Arjen Robben beautifully brought the ball down and wiggled his way past a couple defenders inside the Spanish eighteen to give Holland the 2-1 lead. Van Persie again showed his brilliance on 60’ minutes as his right footed shot from the edge of the eighteen got past Casillas only to hit the crossbar.

The first changes for both sides came in the 62’ minute as Diego Costa and Xabi Alonso came off in favor of Pedro and Fernando Torres for Spain and Georgino Wijnaldum came on for Jonathan de Guzman for the Dutch. It was only two minutes later when Holland took a 3-1 lead as Wesley Sneijder’s freekick from the left flank got past everyone including Iker Casillas. Spain thought they had a lifeline three minutes later when David Silva knocked in a goal after Cillesen blocked a header from the center of the box, only to be ruled offside.

Only 70’ minutes in, this game offered more excitement than it did over the span of 120 minutes in South Africa four years ago. Holland continued to have their chances as Casillas awkwardly blocked Van Persie’s shot from outside the eighteen on 72’ minutes. The world was shocked again as Casillas was at fault on 72’ minutes as his bad first touch led to a poaching Van Persie who stole the ball to make it 4-1.

Newly signed Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas was brought on in the 78’ minute in favor of David Silva, but it was too little too late for the Spanish side. Arjen Robben completed the embarrassment as he beat Sergio Ramos to the ball from the center of the pitch and then toyed with Iker Casillas before coolly slotting the ball home. Iker somewhat made up for his blunder as he made two good saves on 87’ minutes to deny Arjen Robben what would surely have been one of the goals of the tournament.

It can be said that no one expected a result like this. Despite Spain losing their first game in 2010 as well, there should be no overlooking the pounding that Holland put on them. The Dutch were faster and looked hungrier than the Spanish side. Holland will come out of this game with three points in hand, while Spain will have to face a multitude of questions in the coming week. Though Spain should still come out of this group, the royal thumping that Holland put on them today will be talked about for years to come as this is the worst loss ever by a reigning World Cup champion.