Dutch delight v Spanish sorrow

Source: KA T en Unsplash

Spain 1 Netherlands 5 match report: Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben run riot as Louis van Gaal's side thrash stunned champions

Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold. It did not feel cold in the humidity of a Salvador evening but four years after losing the World Cup final to Spain, the Netherlands exacted revenge in quite stunning fashion here last night.

Outplayed for the first 44 minutes and trailing to a Xabi Alonso penalty, they came back to inflict a 5-1 hammering on the holders in which both Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben struck twice. Spain came back from an opening defeat by Switzerland in South Africa but it is hard to see how they can retain their title after a demoralising setback like this. *They had not conceded five goals in an international since 1963 and though this World Cup is still very much in its infancy, it will take a special team to bounce back after being stunned by Louis van Gaal’s team in this Group B fixture.

Spain just could not live with the pace and quality of the Dutch attack who rounded off the rout with a quite brilliant individual goal from Robben who raced away from Sergio Ramos and rounded Iker Casillas before definitively burying the ghosts of Soccer City.

A game that began at a slow pace in humid conditions almost produced an early goal when Robben put Wesley Sneijder clear. As in Soccer City, though, when Robben was bearing down on his goal, Casillas was equal to Sneijder’s shot, sticking out a strong hand to push it away. It was not the only echo of the 2010 final as Nigel de Jong caught Sergio Busquets in the midriff; no kung-fu kick this time, but a strong arm and while Busquets went down like a drunk on an icy pavement, Nicola Rizzoli, the Italian referee, kept his card in his pocket. For all the talk about the Netherlands’ changes under Van Gaal, the striking feature of the first period was seeing Spain play with a genuine centre-forward in Diego Costa, a striker fresh from a 36-goal season with Atletico Madrid. For Costa, who had appeared twice in friendlies for Brazil, it was the first competitive start for his adopted country and came just three months after his Spain debut. The 25-year-old was born less than 200 kilometres from the Arena Fonte Nova, in the town of Lagarto, and his change of allegiance earned him loud boos when his name was read out before kick-off and again virtually every time the ball came anywhere near him.

Yet with his clever runs, he gave Spain’s skillful passers an important outlet, stretching the Dutch defence, and he should have had an early goal when he broke clear after David Silva had robbed Jonathan De Guzman. Instead his heavy touch gave Ron Vlaar time to make the covering tackle. This is a Dutch team short on tournament experience – all but one of the back five were appearing for the first time in a major tournament – and it showed not least with Bruno Martins Indi. A slip by the Feyenoord centre-back let Silva play in Costa in a promising position on the right but his shot was wild and wayward. 

On 26 minutes, Costa won the penalty with which Spain took the lead. It followed a typically flowing move through the midfield and a lovely Xavi through pass between two blue shirts, which set Costa clear. It was a questionable penalty all the same, Costa going down over the trailing leg of Stefan De Vrij as he stepped inside to shoot. Rizzoli did not hesitate to point to the spot and Xabi Alonso’s conversion was wonderfully precise, beating Jasper Cillessen even though he dived the right way.

Spain were controlling the midfield and Silva should have doubled the lead in the 43rd minute when put through by Iniesta but his dink lacked the height to beat Cillessen.

Instead Van Persie brought them back into the game. It was an unusual goal in some ways, as Daley Blind sent over a deep cross from near the halfway line. Ramos lost Van Persie’s run and the striker threw himself at the ball and sent a wonderfully improvised header looping over Casillas from 16 yards.

Eight minutes after the restart the Dutch had a second goal, this time following a precise five-man move after Spain had lost possession in midfield. On the eve of this match Robben described his 2010 final miss as something that would remain with him “all my life” so what came next would have been sweet indeed. Plucking Blind’s pass out of the air, he turned Gerard Pique and fired past Casillas.

For all the debate about Van Gaal’s use of wing-backs and the questions about the Dutch rookies, what the Dutch do have is exceptional quality in attack and Spain’s struggling defence were almost pierced again as Van Persie smashed a shot against the crossbar. The reprieve was brief. Vicente Del Bosque had just sent on Fernando Torres for Costa – a change that gave the Brazilians in the crowd nothing more to sing about – when the game slipped further away from Spain as De Vrij bundled the ball in following a free-kick. It was a goal touched with controversy as Van Persie raised an arm as he jumped with Casillas, who let the ball run on to the far post where De Vrij converted.

Silva scrambled a shot into the net as Spain sought a response but was offside and instead their evening got even worse with 18 minutes remaining as Casillas’ heavy touch on a back pass was punished by Van Persie who stole in to tap in his second goal.

After Robben’s wonder goal, it might have got even worse for Spain as only a fine Casillas double save stopped the Dutch getting six.

Source: the Independent

*They fail to mention that it was Scotland who defeated Spain 6 - 2.

Vocabulary:

a nightmare - una pesadilla

a performance - un desempeño??

to run riot - uncontrollable - desmandarse??

revenge is a dish best served cold (idiom) - la venganza es un plato que se sirve frío

exact (= take) revenge - vengarse

stunning (adj) - alucinante, asombroso, impresionante

to outplay - jugar mejor que

to trail - to lose - quedarse atrás

to inflict - infligir

a hammering - una paliza / a hammer - un martillo

a holder - un poseedor

to strike (struck) - to hit - golpear??

a / to defeat - una derrota

a setback - un revés

to bounce back - recuperarse

to stun - aturdir, dejar pasmado

to round off - redondear

a rout - una derrota (goleada)

to bury - enterrar

to bear down on - to rush towards - venirse encima??

to stick out - extender??

midriff - estómago

a striker - un delantero

a / to boo - un abucheo

kick-off - el saque inicial??

skillful (adj) - habíl, diestro

an outlet - una salida??

to stretch - estirarse??

a / to tackle - una entrada??

a / to slip - un resbalón, un error

a shot (at goal) - un remate

wayward (adj) -

to take the lead - tomar la delantera?? ponerse a la cabeza??

flowing - fluye

to hesitate - dudar, vacilar

to point - señalar

the (penalty) spot -

to beat - vencer

to dive -

to lack - faltar, carecer

height (n) - altura

a yard - una yarda

the eve of - la vispera de

to pluck -

a rookie - un novato, un principiante

to / a struggle / struggling - luchar, tener problemas / en apuros

to smash - hacer un mate??

the crossbar - el travesaño??, el larguero??

a reprieve - un alivio??

brief (adj) - breve

to slip away - escaparse

to bundle away -

to raise - levantar

to scramble - pelearse por??

to seek (sought) - to try to get - buscar

to tap in -





 Tulips from Amsterdam

When it's Spring again I'll bring again
Tulips from Amsterdam
With a heart that's true I'll give to you
Tulips from Amsterdam
I can't wait until the day you fill
These eager arms of mine
Like the windmill keeps on turning
That's how my heart keeps on yearning
For the day I know we can
Share these tulips from Amsterdam


Dutch idioms:

Let's go Dutch - We say this when we want to share the price of something eg a meal in a restaurant.

I need some Dutch courage - The confidence that you get from drinking alcohol.

It's all double Dutch to me - Talking or writing that is nonsense or that you can't understand.

I have to say that I was supporting the Dutch last night. I should support Spain I know but it's just that I can't stand all the arrogant commentary. I watched the match with the mute button on.

Still all is not lost - remember that Spain lost the first match in the last World Cup and Carbanero got the blame.


Check out all the football vocabulary that you will need for the next few weeks.