Holland crush Spain in Group B opener

Defending champions Spain suffered their heaviest defeat in recent years on Friday, losing unimaginably to a near-perfect Holland 1-5.

Not only did Spain concede five goals while being completely outclassed in the second half, their only goal came via a controversial penalty.

Xabi Alonso converted the controversially-awarded 27-minute spot kick to give Spain a 1-0 lead that was, in truth, deserved at the time.

But Holland — their opponent at the final of the South Africa 2010 World Cup — responded superbly, Van Persie equalising in the 44th minute with a brilliantly-lobbed header after connecting with an inch-perfect, long-searching pass by left back, Daley Blind.

The Dutch team were ever fierier in the second half, and Arjen Robben inevitably grabbed the lead thanks to some wonderful footwork in the Spanish box, and a coolly-slotted final ball that slid past Casillas. That was in the 53rd minute.

Eleven minutes later, Holland were at it again. Wesley Sneijder sent a free kick from the left wing across the face of goal, and Iker Casillas failed to deal with it properly, instead colliding with Robin Van Persie. Stefan de Vrij cashed in on the confusion to poke the ball home at the far post and give the Netherlands a 3-1 lead.

In the 73rd minute, Casillas made a horrible mistake with his first touch, allowing the ball to bounce right to Van Persie at the top of the box. The goalkeeper’s desperate sliding tackle was too late, as RVP held his balance long enough to nudge the ball into an empty net.

Spain’s comical defending continued in the 81st minute, as they simply couldn’t stop Arjen Robben who danced around inside the box before firing the ball into the again-empty net to make it 5-1.

Spain, the defending champions, must now avoid defeat against Chile on Wednesday and against Australia on June 23 to avoid falling the way of Italy, who exited the 2010 World Cup at the group stage despite being the defending champions.