The World Cup is live with Spain and the Netherlands on Friday and the match is streaming on radio from ESPN Radio online and has a live stream for the Group B set as the Spanish defending champions take on the Dutch in the Arena Fonte Nova at Salvador and the matchup is a big one for both sides in Brazil and it comes with the home nation winning out in their first match and now Spain must answer as another favorite.
Spain comes into the tournament after being the champions of Euro and the World Cup over the past four years and they remain a favorite pick along with Brazil, Argentina and Germany and those teams have the best odds to win the tournament here in Brazil based on what the bettors think. The Spanish team is experienced, but they are also old and that means the speed of other teams could take advantage and players like Xavi and David Villa will have to be at the top of their games to get things done.
Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque said that his team will be ready for the Netherlands and that they are still feeling good after the friendly run and they matchup after winning 1-0 over the Dutch four years ago. Spain has won five times in the series and they have four losses and one draw in the history between the teams and Holland is playing without players Kevin Strootman and Rafael van der Vaart, while Spain has their lineup ready to go.
Brazil started off the tournament in a loud way with a 3-1 win and two goals from Neymar, but there was plenty of controversy and that could continue to play out as the World Cup unfolds. There was a questionable penalty given out on a dive by Fred and many wondered why the call was made, as the game was 1-1 and that dramatically changed things. Brazil got scores from Neymar and he woke up the crowd after the team allowed an own goal and that started off the game with a 1-0 deficit for Brazil and they eventually bounced back from that.
Mexico and Cameroon also had a couple rough calls, as Mexico lost two goals in the first half on plays called offside and after replays, it looked like both should have counted and that could make things very tough for El Tri going forward in their group, as they are also with Brazil, Cameroon and Croatia and could find themselves in a hole later on goals wise. Mexico scored the first goal and it was good after those other goals were disallowed and that gave El Tri some momentum out of the halftime break.
Louis van Gaal said that his team would not be overwhelmed in the match and now his Dutch team has the chance to make up for the finals loss years ago. The team has games left with Cameroon and Mexico and those teams are tough as well, but beatable and depending on what happens in this match, those games will have to be must-wins as things play out.
Check here for the Spain and Netherlands live coverage from the World Cup in Brazil.
