Can Spain recover from Netherlands defeat?

Can Spain recover from Netherlands defeat?

Spanish football fans will be reeling following the teams shock 5 -1 destruction at the hands of the Netherlands. Having led the game in the first half, Robin Van Persie equalised for Netherlands just before the break and the Dutch went on to complete an emphatic victory. So, will Spain be able to recover from this devastating defeat and make a serious defence of their World Cup crown?

 

The choice of Casillas will definitely come under scrutiny, some of his positioning was questionable and despite some contact, he was left floundering as Netherlands claimed their third goal in the second half. To compound his misery, Casillas then mis-controlled a back pass, allowing Van Persie to sneak in and score his teams fourth goal which put the Dutch out of sight. Having had limited opportunities at Real Madrid, Casillas is short of match practice and the goalkeeping position is a very specialised job, being out of touch can cost your side the match in an instant. If Spain want to progress in the tournament they must surely look to David De Gea or Pepe Reina to step in and provide some solidity at the back.

 

Defensively as a whole Spain were poor but Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique are top quality central defenders and one bad match shouldn't call for wholesale changes. They will play better, there is no doubt about that. Going forward, Diego Costa made some good runs but looks as though he is still struggling with the injury that forced him off early in the Champions League final. However, following an horrendous miss from Torres in the second half, he still remains Spain's best striking option.

 

The central midfield partnership of Xavi and Alonso looked a bit sluggish at times against an athletic Netherlands team and manager Del Bosque might want to look at freshening this area up if Spain are to progress. Chile have some quality midfield players and they can not afford to be over run in this area of the pitch again. With Koke, Fabregas and Mata available it could be time for a change. It is difficult breaking up a successful team but sometimes it has to be done in order to continue that success.

 

Spain undoubtedly have a world class squad of players and if the squad is used properly they can definitely still qualify from their group. Of course, Spain lost their first match in 2010 to Switzerland and went on to win the tournament. However, the defeat to the Netherlands was a different type of defeat to 2010 and will have left a huge dent in the Spanish teams confidence and belief. Having said that, with a few changes to the starting eleven as discussed above they can move on, defeat Chile and progress in the tournament. Once they reach the knock out stages, none one will fancy playing them and anything can happen.

 

Spain to qualify from group 1.91 @ Bet365

Spain to win the world cup 13.00 @ Bet365