[joe1980]

It should have been 5-0 for Netherlands. Unwarranted penalty for Spain. What a revenge by the Hollanders against Spain.

Did I say Spain would win the title this time as well. Looking at today's game, I think Spain looks tired and hazy and the chances to retain the title are slim. Look at the way they played today, poor defense, poor forward and the worst was very poor goal keeping. They were only good at ball possession!

[naveenroy]

Ah, what a sweet, sweet, sweet revenge! 5 - 1 the scoreline at the end of play. This was the day of Oranje. Plastered the Spanish.

Now, I don't mind if the Netherlands lose every game henceforth or even go on to win the World Cup. Revenge is taken.

[TorqueyTechie]

Spain destroyed by Netherlands!! Cracker of a game. I know its very early in the tournament but I feel the Dutch will go long in the tournament.

Spain I believe did not have any cohesion in the field at all. Ramos and Pique didnt gel well and to top it Casillas made few blunders in the field. Diego Costa fluffed couple of chances and also did a headbutt against (forgot the name). Xavi though played brilliantly playing in an advanced midfield role. Should wait and watch how Spain responds in the days to come.

The other two games played out according to script with chile scripting an 3-1 victory over aussies and mexico winning a dour match against cameroon 1-0.

[ankan.m.blr]

What a game between last cup's finalists! I thought the penalty was unwarranted (looked like a clean tackle to me). The equalizer by Van Persie was superb; clearly the best in this cup so far. I felt this goal changed the flow of the game. The Dutch took control of the midfield and exacted cold revenge on Spain. Its still early to write off Spain from the cup. They are a good team without doubt; they need to win their next with Chili & USA to qualify for next round. I am eager to see how Spain motivates its players and take on the challenge.

[drmohitg]

IIRC Spain even lost there opening match in the last world cup. So too early to count them out. They really need one good game to get that confidence boosted up.

[mallumowgli]

Diego Costa shouldn't have started. And also booing him for every move was extremely unfortunate. Spain lacked cohesion in defence (perhaps a bit overconfident?) and Casillas had a terrible day

Good to see the Dutch back to their old self, playing fast aggressive football, compared to the boring and 'un-sporting' tactics they used last time around. And the guys most delighted would be the Man U fans!!

So now, it seems Spain will meet Brazil in the second round (ie) if they win the rest of the matches

[satan's_valet]

Ah. What a sweet revenge it was. Good show by the Dutch and they got their revenge after a 4 year gap. The Dutch were oozing with confidence and it showed in every match aspect. Especially that 5th goal, where Robben was playing around with Casillas showed their dominance.

As a ManU fan, feeling happy.

[Ddrive]

Veteran trio Robben - Persie - Sneijder, can do this to any team any day.
Seems to me like: the VanBasten Rijkaard Gullit, and the Mathews Voller Klinsmann trios of the late 80s.

[rsjaurr]

I decided the stay awake even after getting 3-4 hours sleep the previous night to watch this match and it was proved to be good decision.

Spain was playing the way they usually play but it was good strategy by Dutch coach to let loose their forwards with lightening quick speed on Spain. And it was proved successful with stunning end result. They also proved that attack is the best defense.

It was clearly visible that Spain midfield and defense was struggling to keep pace with Dutch forwards and we might see other teams employ similar strategy especially teams like Germany,Brazil,Argentina with good aggressive forwards.

Even after this big loss we should expect Spain to bounce back and win next couple of matches and then from there on it will be a different ball game.

[rana_kirti]

times have changed.. this is going to be a very high scoring world cup. you can't survive without at least 2 pure strikers.

[kaushik_s]

Spain lost but don't count them out just yet. But yesterday they looked tired and their defense was in shambles. Someone has to put it mind of the Spanish defenders that they are not playing against each other but together. And they seriously need a better striker who can convert the chances. Torres missing a piece of cake in dying moments is not gonna help. Just to think about it, if Silva was able to convert the chance he had just before Van Parsie's flying header, the whole game would've looked very different.

[Ddrive]

Brasil getting the first blow.
Spain getting thrashed.
Uruguay beaten by the unsung.
Argentina's unimpressive win.
Oh what a week its been.

[Lij]

What a world cup in Brazil we are having. 11 matches gone and all yielded results

[thoma]

Oh my god, I just missed watching this live. What better play than this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzC6bqHdbNs&feature=kp

It is all in the attitude, the Netherlands just didn't want to wane at any time; in contrast to Argentina who got into complacent mode after an own goal! A similar ball, albeit a bit low, was available for Bosnia against Argentina and see what the striker did. It is all about the blood rush, the want to win. I had lost hope in the Netherlands for some time now an it seems they are earning my respects again.

After seeing him in two world cups, I am now confirming that Missi is more of a hype. How many of his passes went to the wrong foot yesterday? A poor free kick and a lazy run. Why can't he perform in world cups when all others toil hard to achieve glory; almost all strikers are stringently marked, no excuses here.

And Italy just scraped through though the better goal was from England in my opinion. Pirlo was outstanding. Balotelli knows just to shoot and head, no dribbling.

Looking forward to what Ronaldo can and will do in comparison to Messi. I'm sure he plays his heart out but I do not like Portugal for the last two world cups as they create more drama than necessary. Podolski, Klose, Muller and Schweinsteiger gets to debut today. I'll be with whoever plays well.

[motomaverick]

Very slow start by Argentina, somehow escaped a draw because of the own goal. Messi showed just 1 touch of brilliance hope there's more to come.

But seeing Bosnia performance I was left wondering why India cannot find talent when such a small country manages to qualify to the world cup. Imagine being invited in 1950 and turning it down because we had to wear shoes to play.