World Cup: Can The Dutch Prove That 5-1 Destruction of Spain Was Not a Fluke?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Van Percie on target

Was it a fluke, or the first and most dramatic shot in a football revolution that will rock the game to the foundations, sweep away the defending champions and cause coaches all over to re-think the way they do things. The Netherlands' 5-1 destruction of world titleholders Spain in the opening fixture of Group B  has been the result of the World Cup so far.

Stunning in its completeness, extraordinary for its unexpectedness and thought provoking in the manner of its execution, Louis Van Gaal's team has immediately become the talk of the tournament, with many now tipping them to go one better than they did in South Africa 2010, when the Oranje lost an ill tempered final to Spain in Soccer City, Soweto.
But wiser heads have counselled caution. The World Cup has thrown up some bizarre results before, when teams have seized momentum in one game and looked like world beaters only to come up short later. Argentina put six past Serbia in the 2006 World Cup, but lost in the quarter-finals to host Germany, while back in Mexico in 1986 the rampant Danes smashed Uruguay for six in a group game, and then promptly lost 5-1 to Spain. Still neither result was quite as dramatic as The Netherlands, as neither Serbia nor Uruguay were world champions at the time.
But it's too early yet to say that the Dutch have one hand on the trophy, while it's also to soon to write off Spain, although they go into their next fixture against Chile knowing that a loss would almost certainly eliminate them from the competition.