Nederland start met de volgende opstelling. #spaned #espned #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/XIvYpAJb8Z
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) June 13, 2014
Since Spain’s full-backs both go forward and the remaining two centre-halves push their defensive line high up the pitch when La Roja are in possession, Del Bosque’s side had a nasty surprise waiting.
When the ball was played out wide, the two strikers for Netherlands had to stretch Ramos and Pique before quickly running off the shoulder of these defenders to receive the ball in behind with only Iker Casillas to beat.
Key tactical changes
The game started with Spain looking sharp in possession, particularly in the first-half, but Van Gaal’s men worked hard to close down spaces.
Offensively, that training ground move initially wasn’t effective thanks to the offsides against Van Persie and Robben, but when it started to come off it changed the game as the Netherlands produced a stunning comeback.
From then on, La Roja just unravelled as they lost their hunger to keep the ball for longer. In any game, Spain are usually poor without the ball so Del Bosque’s men kept conceding.
The manager tried to change things with an offensive double substitution, which left Busquets as the single pivot. Iniesta tucked in behind Fernando Torres to allow Pedro Rodriguez to take the left wing position, while Cesc Fabregas replaced David Silva on the right wing.
It hardly changed a thing as the defending champions were resigned to ending their nightmare start to the 2014 World Cup campaign as quickly as possible.
