Netherlands win on Friday may have ended Spain’s six-year reign as the best football team in the world. Andres Iniesta, Spain’s central midfielder who struck the winning goal in the final four years ago against the Netherlands, was humbled by his team’s loss on Friday.
Despite losing, Iniesta said that they will try to learn from their experience. “We have to win the two games that are left. There are small details that tip the balance. But it was difficult for us,” he said.
He also said that his team is prepared for whatever comes, and they will do their best to win, but they will certainly not forget about their loss.
A Humbling Defeat
“We have to accept defeat. They were better than us in the second half. We have to admit that they were better. It’s a delicate moment for us, but we have to solve it,” Iniesta said.
Fernando Torres, Spain’s striker, said that they did not have a solution to Netherlands’ gameplan. “It doesn’t matter how many goals they scored. We just can’t make any excuses. They were better, as simple as that,” he said. He also added that they still have the mindset that they can beat anyone. “That’s the attitude we’ll be taking into the Chile game,” Torres said.
With Spain’s recent defeat, they have already conceded more than they had during the last two World Cups. Could this be caused by their lineup’s transition? The team has lost their tight defense with Carles Puyol’s retirement. Sergio Ramon and Gerard Pique also played out of character.
In World Cup history, Spain has only had one heavy defeat, which happened 64 years ago when the team was destroyed 6-1 by Brazil. After that incident, Spain did not qualify for the next two World Cups. People are now wondering if history is repeating itself.
Reports also indicate that this is Spain’s worst defeat since Coach Vicente Del Bosque took over the team in 2008.
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