Goals: Spain—Alonso 27' (penalty); Holland—Persie 44', 72' Robben 53, 80' De Vrij 64'
Recap: It took Holland four years, but revenge was finally exacted at the Arena Fonte Nova on Friday. Despite conceding a penalty in the 27th minute, Robin van Persie and company were able to deliver an onslaught of five unanswered goals, capturing a 5-1 victory over Spain.
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A superfluous header from van Persie in the dying minutes of the first half neutralized an earlier controversial penalty decision. Arjen Robben would give his team the lead in the 53rd after beating Spain's offside trap. He would complete his brace in the 80th minute, following his teammate, van Persie, who did the same just eight minutes prior.
The 5-1 victory was as complete as they come. Unfortunately for the Dutch, they don't hand out World Cup trophies for winning group-stage openers.
Still four years too late.
Key Moment: It wasn't the goals that were scored that ultimately decided the match between Spain and Holland...It was the one that wasn't that did. Just one minute before van Persie's eventual equalizer, Spain's David Silva was delivered an inch-perfect pass from Andres Iniesta. One-on-one with the keeper, Silva's attempted chip was parried just wide of the post. Sixty seconds later, van Persie equalized with the goal of the tournament. The difference between a 2-0 lead at halftime and a 1-1 draw turned this one-sided result on its head.
Man of the Match: Robben tortured Spain's high line, consistently finding space to punish the center-back pairing of Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique. Add four dribbles to his brace, and you have a complete performance or the ages.
Lesson Learned: The uneducated irrationalist will undoubtedly bury the reigning World Cup champions after Friday. Failing to win the opening match of a major tournament, however, is consistent with Spain's reign. In 2010, it was Switzerland that delivered the opening blow. In 2012, it took a Cesc Fabregas equalizer to salvage a point against Italy. Spain are notoriously slow starters. Burying La Furia Roja after one match is a mistake habitually made by most. After a 5-1 drumming, it will be done for a third consecutive time. Apparently, no lesson was learned today.
Up Next: Spain travels to the Estadio do Maracana to face Chile on June 18 (3 p.m. ET), while Holland visit Porto Alegre to meet with Australia earlier in the afternoon (12 p.m. ET)
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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