New York- “It was the worst debut for Spain in a World Cup.” This is how Spanish daily El Pais described Spain’s humiliating defeat against the Netherlands. “In 21 minutes, Spain received more goals than during the World Cup 2010,” the same source added.
Before the start of the game nobody would have expected the final score of the game that pitted Spain against the Netherlands to be that catastrophic for La Roja. Most people were expecting a highly interesting game between one of the world’s best teams. But this is the charm of soccer. It brings results that we would have never expected.
After a successful first quarter of the game during which Spain managed to have its sway on the pitch and scored the first goal from a penalty kick, Iniesta’s teammates just disappeared. But the turning point of the game was at the 40th minutes when David Silva failed to score the second goal for his side after receiving an amazing pass from Iniesta.
Three minutes later, Van Persie managed to level the score form a fabulous header, just one minutes before the end of the first half. During the second half, soccer fans were expecting to see a combative Spanish team willing to dominate its rival, but the Spaniards’ efforts collided with a strong Dutch midfield and defense.
Casillas was also disappointing and did not live up to the expectations of his fans. The Spanish goal-keeper pays the price of the lack of games with the Real Madrid over the past year.
Spanish players, as well as their public were in disbelief witnessing one of the most humiliating scores for their team. Spain pays a heavy price for the lack of coordination between its defenders, especially Piqué y Sergio Ramos, as well for the velocity of the Dutch players, especially Arjen Robben, who gave a hard time to the Spanish side.
This is the first time in 48 years Spain loses with such a humiliating score. The last time it received five goals an up was in 1966 against Scotland. It is perhaps the beginning of the end of a fabulous generation of players who enabled Spain to pride itself in being the first football nation to win two titles of the European Cup of Nations (2008 and 2012) and a World Cup in 2010.
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