I'm late to the party here, I had company.

But that game totally made up for the previous two. Not only was that first Dutch goal the reason we have WC players, but it kept coming and coming to the point I was laughing.

I have no idea what happened, and I have no idea why it was so delightful to see one team go beyond slaughtered to humiliated, but it was one fantastic way to spend an hour and a half.

Weird, usually one sided matches aren't fun to watch, but I would watch this all over again.

The Spanish defence looked a really mess.

Maybe the Netherlands will be one of the dark horses when there wasn't a lot of expectations about them.

the Dutch put on one hell of a performance in that 2nd half. it was just stunning.

Del Bosque is guilty of showing a little too much loyalty to some of these players. Casillas, Xavi, and most mystifyingly of all Torres who shouldn't be anywhere near Brazil this summer. and I don't really get the insistence on Costa who has never really played with this team, while a player like Llorente who can do the same job, knows the squad, and has also had a great season, sits at home doing nothing.

I also think people are going way overboard with all this "death of tiki-taka" and "Spain have been found out" crap too. the inevitable age-related decline of Puyol and especially Xavi is IMO the biggest reason for Spain and Barca gradually getting worse over the last couple of seasons, and both teams are paying for their over-reliance on him and his increasing inability to control the game anymore. he needs to be replaced and/or the system changed slightly, but with the other payers still available and coming through (especially with Spain) I believe both teams are far from finished

Spain were made to look very ordinary in the second half, such was the Dutch play.

It was a clear penalty.

Costa won them the penalty that they scored and gave them a platform that they should have won the game from. Costa scored more goals in the league than Villa, Fabregas and Torres combined. You don't win La Liga and get to the Champions League final if you don't know what you're doing.

Let's hope the Netherlands are knocked out soon though. Should have been banned from World Cup football for at least one tournament after their behaviour in 2010's final.

I agree that Puyol no longer being in Spain's squad is a big reason for Spain's decline - his leadership and organisation in defence was vital; especially for Pique who has gradually gotten worse and worse since injuries have reduced Puyol's playing time and ended their CB partnership. Xavi has been tailing off since 2011/12 IMHO; and it's unfortunate for Spain that Thiago, a player who can emulate Xavi was ruled out of the WC.

I actually feel that it was the reduction of tika-taka which made things worse for Spain - they comprised their system to suit Diego Costa, someone who mainly works within Simone's framework and whose style is completely at odds with Spain. To rub salt into the wounds Costa performed terribly last night; and it was the lack of ball monopolisation in midfield which left Spain so exposed - their defence was probably called on far more yesterday than it's been in recent years, because of the kind of cover Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets provided with their skills. Speaking of Busquets, I have no idea why Del Bosque didn't start Martinez over him - Busquets is a fantastic player but he's had a relatively poor season for Barca.

Casillas positioning was diabolical yesterday, as it was in the UCL final. Why in the hell he keeps on coming off his line is beyond me. I agree on Llorente - even Negredo would have been a better option that Torres - that miss truly summed him up. Del Bosque, the brilliant coach he is appears to have not learned the lesson of previous WC winning teams in not evolving the team enough. France in 2002 and Italy in 2010 made the same mistake.

Spain can probably still challenge in these tournaments, they've got many great players coming up. But I do think their dominant period in international football is over.

I didn't say he doesn't know what he's doing; I suggested his style may be incompatible with Spain's current setup.

He's one of the top strikers in the world and a lethal goalscorer as well as being hard working and fitting into the new style of being more direct. The problem wasn't up front it was being too loyal to guys like Casillas who looked rusty and casual. It may have just been a freak result we'll see in the next game.

I'm sick abd tired of all these cocky England fans who reckon the Netherlands are going to win the world cup. So typical.

Yup, having watched him play pretty much every week for the past 2 seasons I'm aware of all that. I want to see him do well with Spain but I'm just not sure if it'll be this World Cup. They should beat Chile and then against Australia it's a great chance for him to get a goal or two to boost his confidence.

I feel sorry for Torres. A millionaire professional footballer with a lifestyle I could only dream about, and I actually feel sorry for the guy.

Costa seems to have been made the Plan A, when he only had 2 caps and hasn't played with any of the team at club level either. if Del Bosque absolutely had to play that way, then surely Llorente would've been the better bet?

I think Busquets was fine. It definitely wasn't his fault he was overrun. I think Xavi needs to be dropped for Koke, or Iniesta needs to be moved into Xavi's position and Mata into Iniesta's. Javi Martinez should come in for Xabi Alonso too. Pique and Ramos have always been liabilities IMO, but they've never really been as exposed as they were last night, because the midfield used to be a lot better.