SALVADOR, Brazil — The Netherlands tore Spain apart in a dominant second half performance to thrash the defending World Cup champion 5-1 on Friday and gain a measure of revenge for its 2010 World Cup final loss to Vicente Del Bosque’s team.
Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas has a nightmare outing as the reigning champs are torn asunder by Netherlands.
Spain took the lead in the 27th minute with Xabi Alonso converting from the spot after a foul on Diego Costa.
But that was the last of the celebrations for the team known as La
Roja — a team which Spain's El Pais newspaper was defending not just a
title but a style.
After Xabi's conversion, it was festival of
orange with Van Persie beginning the show with a diving header just
before half time.
Robben then scored in the 52nd minute before De Vrij's followed up in minute 64.
Spain goalkeeper Casillas then made a terrible mistake, failing to
control a back pass, and allowing Van Persie to scored his second.
Robben then completed the humiliation with a fifth goal for Holland in the 80th minute.
The match also saw Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas come up short in
his bid to break Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga's long unbeaten World
Cup record on Friday.
Had Casillas kept a clean sheet until at
least the last four minutes of Spain's Group B opener against the
Netherlands in Salvador, he would have overtaken Zenga's 517-minute
unbeaten run from Italia 1990.
Casillas had not conceded a
World Cup goal since Rodrigo Millar scored in the 47th minute of world
champions Spain's final group game 2-1 victory over Chile in South
Africa four years ago.
But when Dutch striker Robin van Persie
netted in the 44th minute of Friday's clash, to equalise Xabi Alonso's
earlier penalty, Casillas's run stopped at 477 minutes, 40 minutes
short.
Source: Agency
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