Spain vs Netherlands... post mortem
Another interesting game at the mundial.....provided one of the shocks of late in the world cup.....
Who could have ever envisaged Spain (defending champions) being trashed 5-1 by a team they defeated to win their first and only world cup trophy...
Louis van Gaal clearly won the tactical battle against Vicente del bosque.... His players exhibited resilience and tactical discipline...
Had a workaholic midfield with De Jong and De Guzman working their socks off...
Robben despite a poor start really transformed his performance in the second half and contributed to his team's dominance in that half of the game...
Sneijder (making his 100th appearance) despite being in and out of the game also played a key role with his mobility on and off the ball and his passing ability...
Robin van Persie saw few of the ball upfront but made most use of it and his link up play with the midfield at times was brilliant and needs commendation..
Daley Blind was near excellent... With his precise passes and composure on the ball... On the opposite flank Daryl Janmaat was responsible for few crosses coming from Spain's left side of attack..
For Martins Indi...De Vrij ....and Vlaar... They did very well at the back with Jasper Cillessen also contributing his quota... In summary it was a collective and well-spirited display by the Netherlands...
For Spain what ever struck them did indeed take something away from them... They were out of sorts and did almost near nothing purposeful with the ball in the 2nd half...
Spain's problem from my viewpoint is they have the names... But with utmost sincerity..these names have lost form considerably over the few years... Spain are a team on gradual decline... They aren't that clinical again and they look tired themselves with their once interesting jaw dropping tiki taka style of football... They look predictable now and problem is coach Vicente del Bosque can't vary his tactics if things are not going on well with his side...
Their style now looks uninteresting and ineffective with a low rate of conversion from the numerous chances ..it is a clear case of too many needless passes...on a day Spain had just 6 shots on target despite having 58% of possession compared to 11 shots on target from the Dutch.
Spain cannot rely on the partnership of Pique and Ramos at central defence... I simply do not trust them... Spain have allowed more shots on target today than in any previous World Cup game of Spain from 1966-2014 and that be a serious cause for concern for coach Vicente Del Bosque. Jordi Alba is one wonderful ... And speedy fullback but is a poor defender... Cesar Azpilicueta defends at times just like his name sounds(strange) ... and the main talking poi t will be; is Casillas still good enough to be Spain's first choice goalkeeper... He was also at fault for at least 3 of the 5 conceded...
Performances like that and I see either of David De Gea or Pepe Reina ousting him from his position....
What ever caused Spain's fall from grace I believed has been well noted by Del Bosque and should work on them fast ahead if their next two matches... But I feel he should be bold enough to bench the likes of Xavi Hernandez and Iker Casillas...
Spain's performance against the Netherlands will probably go down in history as their most humiliating ever.
In a nutshell...Spain can pick themselves from shame and emulate their achievement in 2010 but although its early days yet..should they cine second in their group they face Group A winners which looks likely to be Brazil...
For the Dutch and Louis van Gaal they can only keep on getting better with their swift counter attacking game ...but one thing lingers on ..is this another promising dutch side that will soon adopt the name of perennial underachievers???
My unsung hero....Daley Blind...
I wonder why dem psychic octopuses.... Witchdoctors....et al could not correctly predict this scoreline...
Records and Stats...
Spain conceded over four times for the first time since 1963.It was on the 13th June and the game(friendly) was played at the Bernabeu.
The last time Spain conceded 5 goals in a competitive match was on 13 July 1950: a 6-1 defeat to Brazil at the World...
Xabi Alonso's last goal for Spain was a penalty vs France at Euro 2012 (June), when Nicola Rizzoli was also the referee.
Netherlands have not lost their opening match at a WC since 1938.
Spain have now lost their 2 consecutive world cup opening matches after their defeat to Switzerland in 2010. They afterwards went on to win the WC.
Netherlands have now taken revenge on Spain for their defeat to them in 2010...they also equal their biggest loss to Spain which was a 5-1 friendly defeat in Madrid on 30 January 1957..
Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben have now scored in three consecutive world cups for the Netherlands....
Nana Asare Kwaku Boadu
Who could have ever envisaged Spain (defending champions) being trashed 5-1 by a team they defeated to win their first and only world cup trophy...
Louis van Gaal clearly won the tactical battle against Vicente del bosque.... His players exhibited resilience and tactical discipline...
Had a workaholic midfield with De Jong and De Guzman working their socks off...
Robben despite a poor start really transformed his performance in the second half and contributed to his team's dominance in that half of the game...
Sneijder (making his 100th appearance) despite being in and out of the game also played a key role with his mobility on and off the ball and his passing ability...
Robin van Persie saw few of the ball upfront but made most use of it and his link up play with the midfield at times was brilliant and needs commendation..
Daley Blind was near excellent... With his precise passes and composure on the ball... On the opposite flank Daryl Janmaat was responsible for few crosses coming from Spain's left side of attack..
For Martins Indi...De Vrij ....and Vlaar... They did very well at the back with Jasper Cillessen also contributing his quota... In summary it was a collective and well-spirited display by the Netherlands...
For Spain what ever struck them did indeed take something away from them... They were out of sorts and did almost near nothing purposeful with the ball in the 2nd half...
Spain's problem from my viewpoint is they have the names... But with utmost sincerity..these names have lost form considerably over the few years... Spain are a team on gradual decline... They aren't that clinical again and they look tired themselves with their once interesting jaw dropping tiki taka style of football... They look predictable now and problem is coach Vicente del Bosque can't vary his tactics if things are not going on well with his side...
Their style now looks uninteresting and ineffective with a low rate of conversion from the numerous chances ..it is a clear case of too many needless passes...on a day Spain had just 6 shots on target despite having 58% of possession compared to 11 shots on target from the Dutch.
Spain cannot rely on the partnership of Pique and Ramos at central defence... I simply do not trust them... Spain have allowed more shots on target today than in any previous World Cup game of Spain from 1966-2014 and that be a serious cause for concern for coach Vicente Del Bosque. Jordi Alba is one wonderful ... And speedy fullback but is a poor defender... Cesar Azpilicueta defends at times just like his name sounds(strange) ... and the main talking poi t will be; is Casillas still good enough to be Spain's first choice goalkeeper... He was also at fault for at least 3 of the 5 conceded...
Performances like that and I see either of David De Gea or Pepe Reina ousting him from his position....
What ever caused Spain's fall from grace I believed has been well noted by Del Bosque and should work on them fast ahead if their next two matches... But I feel he should be bold enough to bench the likes of Xavi Hernandez and Iker Casillas...
Spain's performance against the Netherlands will probably go down in history as their most humiliating ever.
Spain have however conceded 5 goals or more on a number of
occasions:
England 7 v 1 Spain 09 December 1931 (International Friendly)
Spain 4 v 5 Austria 19 January 1936 (International Friendly)
Brazil 6 v 1 Spain 13 July 1950 (FIFA World Cup)
Spain 2 v 6 Scotland 13 June 1963 (International Friendly)
Spain 1 v 5 Netherlands 13 June 2014 (FIFA World Cup)
In a nutshell...Spain can pick themselves from shame and emulate their achievement in 2010 but although its early days yet..should they cine second in their group they face Group A winners which looks likely to be Brazil...
For the Dutch and Louis van Gaal they can only keep on getting better with their swift counter attacking game ...but one thing lingers on ..is this another promising dutch side that will soon adopt the name of perennial underachievers???
My unsung hero....Daley Blind...
I wonder why dem psychic octopuses.... Witchdoctors....et al could not correctly predict this scoreline...
Records and Stats...
Spain conceded over four times for the first time since 1963.It was on the 13th June and the game(friendly) was played at the Bernabeu.
The last time Spain conceded 5 goals in a competitive match was on 13 July 1950: a 6-1 defeat to Brazil at the World...
Xabi Alonso's last goal for Spain was a penalty vs France at Euro 2012 (June), when Nicola Rizzoli was also the referee.
Netherlands have not lost their opening match at a WC since 1938.
Spain have now lost their 2 consecutive world cup opening matches after their defeat to Switzerland in 2010. They afterwards went on to win the WC.
Netherlands have now taken revenge on Spain for their defeat to them in 2010...they also equal their biggest loss to Spain which was a 5-1 friendly defeat in Madrid on 30 January 1957..
Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben have now scored in three consecutive world cups for the Netherlands....