Spain embarrassed, humiliated, thrashed, humbled ... Whichever word you use, the Netherlands made sure they punished Spain for the World Cup 2010 1-0 defeat that saw them lose out on the title.
At the start of the match, Spain was the dominant team, and enforced their dominance by taking a 1-0 lead after being handed a controversial penalty when Diego Costa was allegedly brought down in the penalty box.
However, van Persie scored the equaliser with a perfect header before the teams headed down the tunnel.
Moments from the start of the second half, Robben put the Netherlands in front. Then after a scuffle in the box after a corner, de Vrij made it 3-1. Van Persie's second goal wasn't as good as the first, but it came after a mistake made by Casillas. The keeper had failed to clear the ball and therefore conceded a goal. Once again, Casillas disappointed Spain when he allowed Robben to also get a brace.
The extraction of Alonso gave the Netherlands the space they needed to score more goals. Unfortunately, the introduction of Torres was just as disappointing. With two clear chances, Torres couldn't score. Looking at the bench, the likes of Villa, Martinez and others could've been used instead of the introduction of Torres.
This huge thrashing could've been even bigger when Robben was given the space to score a 6th and even 7th goals.
That's not how the defending champions should play. That was a huge defeat. It wasn't just a victory for the Netherlands, but a psychological blow to Spain. The defeat does not mean Spain has been written off, it just means they will come back even stronger against Chile. They need to go back to the drawing board and take a look at where they went wrong.
