Spain 1, Netherlands 5: How Holland came to dominate the defending champs

It wasn't even close.

After converting a first-half penalty (on a highly questionable foul in the box) to take the lead, Spain was dominated by a suddenly attack-oriented Dutch side, that was as relentless as they were successful.

It wasn't so much payback for the defeat in the finals four years ago, as it was a sort of karmic leveling of all that hasn't gone Holland's way in the past. Five goals against any side in the World Cup is an accomplishment, but five goals against the defending champions who only allowed two goals in their title win ... well, that's something else, isn't it?

The Goals

PENALTY GOAL! Xabi Alonso (MEX), 27 min. Of all the penalties ever seen by football fans, Xabi Alonso’s was indeed one of them. The defensive midfielder stepped up, and scored after the sock on Diego Costa’s left leg was brushed by Stefan de Vrij, and the Spanish forward went down in the box.

GOAL! Robin van Persie (NED), 44 min. Speechless.

GOAL! Arjen Robben (NED), 53 min. Robben brought down a beautiful cross from Daley Blind, shifted the ball from his right foot to his left, and fired past a helpless Casillas.

GOAL! Stefan de Vrij (NED), 64 min. GOAL! A free-kick from the left side was put on the far post, where defender Stefan de Vrij sent it into the back of the net almost in spite of himself. It bounced off his head, hit his shin and trailed in. Meanwhile, Casillas was slapped in the face by Bruno Martins Indi to add insult to injury.

GOAL! Robin van Persie (NED), 72 min. R.I.P. Iker Casillas. The ‘keeper slid feet first into a ball in the box, giving it straight to a lurking Robin van Persie, who put the ball away as professionally as can be done in a World Cup match.

GOAL! Arjen Robben (NED), 80 min. Robben outran Pique and Ramos on a through ball, cut back onto his left foot to send Casillas to rot, then blasted a finish past two desperate defenders on the goal line.

Man of the Match - Robben van Blind

Take your pick from among Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Daley Blind for Man of the Match. While van Persie and Robben both had a brace, so much of the attack went through Blind. His crosses were either right on the feet of his teammates or just out of reach of his opponents.

Blind split his time this season as a left back and defensive midfielder this year. He doesn’t have the pace typically needed to find success at fullback, and his prowess as a defensive midfielder is the result of tactical smarts more than physicality. In other words, he’s perfect for the wing-back role that Louis van Gaal has put him in.

The Controversies

Boo. Every time Brazilian-born, Spain-playing Diego Costa touched the ball, he was booed mercilessly. In Costa’s defense, he’s playing for Spain because they gave him a call. Brazil didn't show the same level of interest after Costa appeared in two friendlies for Scolari in 2013. Easy decision.

In the 26th minute, Diego Costa received the ball behind the Dutch back line, and looked to be stopped by Stefan de Vrij, but the follow through of the tackle attempt nicked him enough to bring him down, or at least enough to allow Costa to make it look like it brought him down. The referee didn’t hesitate to point to the spot.

Will Spain go with David de Gea against Chile, now?

What did the winning team do to win?

When you bring the play to Spain, things have an odd way of working out. We saw it in the final of the Confederations Cup last year, and we saw it again today. After conceding the first goal on a penalty, the Dutch stopped looking to counter, and instead focused on attack. They were successful, and then instead of going back to a counter attack, they kept pushing.

Five at the back sounds like the foundation of a defensive formation, but by using Daley Blind to push up the left flank and act as a left midfielder or even left winger, van Gaal found the perfect compliment to the attacking triumvirate of van Persie, Robben and Wesley Sneijder.

It also helps when Ron Vlaar plays like a boss. The Aston Villa center back played more to the right than he did in the previous friendlies using the 5-3-2, and he was so effective, not only in stopping challenges, but also in allowing the less experienced de Vrij and Martins Indi to work together.

The 1,000 Words

The Takeaway

In addition to having beat the favorites in their group, the Dutch put up a plus four goal differential in what could still be a battle to go through to the next round. Winning this group is vital because second place in Group B plays first place in Brazil’s group in the Round of 16.

For Spain, yikes. They play Chile on Wednesday in what is now a do-or-die match.

Stray Thoughts

Did you notice who Robin van Persie ran to after scoring the equalizer? Straight to Louis van Gaal. Then, the entire squad ran to celebrate together. I know the in-fighting is always a nice narrative to rely on, but this Dutch squad — despite the training tussle between Martins Indi and Robben — look in sync.

They need to work on their high-fives, however. That was rough.

Andres Iniesta is just so good. And so fast. He ran down Jonathan de Guzman in less than a second despite being five yards behind him when the Dutchman got the ball. Both men were going all out.

Bruno Martins Indi isn't the biggest man on the pitch, but his intensity today made him the most intimidating. Twice today, skirmishes after a whistle ended very quickly upon Martins Indi's entrance.

Wesley Sneijder's finishing, today? Woof. Woof.

For all the haters, out there, Robben has a message:

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