Spain v Netherlands, 13 June 2014

Kick-off 4.00pm local (8.00pm BST) Man of the Match: Robin van Persie (Netherlands) Assistant referees: Renato Faverani (Italy) Andrea Stefani (Italy) Fourth official: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway) Fifth official: Kim Haglund (Norway) The two teams had met in nine previous matches, including in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final, won by Spain 1–0 after extra time. This was the first time in the FIFA World Cup that the previous finalists met in the group stage. Halfway into the first half, the referee judged that Diego Costa caught a trailing leg from Stefan de Vrij's attempted tackle. Xabi Alonso scored the penalty kick for Spain, shooting into the bottom-right corner with his right foot, putting them into the lead. They were unable to keep the lead until half time though, with Robin van Persie scoring a 15-yard diving looping header after a long ball from Daley Blind from the left after he spotted Iker Casillas slightly off his line. In the second half, Blind assisted another goal for Netherlands, this time setting up Arjen Robben who controlled the pass before coming inside to finish with his left foot from ten yards out. Twelve minutes later, Netherlands scored again, as De Vrij headed the ball in from a tight angle from a Wesley Sneijder free kick on the left. Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas protested that he had been fouled by Van Persie, but the goal was allowed to stand and Casillas received a yellow card for his protest. Not long after this, a backpass from Sergio Ramos was miscontrolled by Casillas with his left leg, resulting in Van Persie gathering the ball and scoring into an empty net for his second goal of the game. The fifth goal for Netherlands was a solo effort from Robben. Having received the ball near the halfway line from a Wesley Sneijder pass, he outran Ramos, Jordi Alba and Casillas, before slotting the ball into the net from ten yards out with his left foot. The 5–1 scoreline became the biggest losing margin for a defending champion in the FIFA World Cup, and also Spain's second biggest loss in the World Cup after their 6–1 thrashing against Brazil in 1950. With their goals, Van Persie and Robben became the first Dutch players to score in three World Cups. Casillas and Xavi joined Andoni Zubizarreta as the only Spanish players to appear in four World Cups. Much attention ahead of the tournament had focused on the switch of Brazilian-born striker Diego Costa to Spain. Costa returned to his native land for his World Cup debut, only for his new team to lose 5–1 to the Netherlands in their opening game in Group B. Jeers and insults were heard from the local fans throughout the match. Costa also noticeably headbutted his opponent Bruno Martins Indi during the game and was subsequently substituted by his coach Vicente del Bosque for striker Fernando Torres