The Netherlands avenged the World Cup final defeat they suffered to Spain four years ago in stunning fashion by coming from behind to thrash the defending champions 5-1 in the Group B opener on Friday night.

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2010's beaten finalists had a great opportunity to take the lead in the ninth minute when Wesley Sneijder broke free of the Spanish defence, but the playmaker failed to beat Iker Casillas with a tame effort.

Diego Costa was proving to be a problem for the trio of Dutch central defenders, but he was frustrated on two separate occasions inside the box as Ron Vlaar made a couple of crucial interceptions to keep out the striker.

However, the Brazil-born forward made a vital contribution midway through the first half when he shifted the ball past Stefan de Vrij, who was adjudged to have fouled his opponent with a needless sliding tackle.

Xabi Alonso was trusted with the duties from the spot, and the midfielder made no mistake as he drilled the ball past Jasper Cillessen.

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Spain wasted the chance to double their lead in the 43rd minute when David Silva, the target of an inch-perfect pass from Andres Iniesta, saw a chipped effort kept out by the Dutch goalkeeper.

Louis van Gaal's side capitalised on the miss from Silva just moments later as Daley Blind whipped in an inviting ball for Robin van Persie, who decided against taking a touch as he headed the ball over a helpless Casillas to level the scores.

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The Dutch players returned to the pitch full of confidence after the interval, and they were ahead in the 53rd minute when Arjen Robben collected the ball with two defenders to beat inside the box before cutting inside and firing past Casillas.

With Spain clearly rocked by their rivals at the start of the second half, Van Persie came agonisingly close to extending the lead further by rattling the crossbar with a fierce half-volley.

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Van Gaal didn't have to wait much longer to see his side score a third in the 64th minute as De Vrij made up for his earlier mistake by arriving at the back post to nod home after Casillas had failed to gather a cross under pressure from Van Persie.

Spain fell even further behind with just 18 minutes of normal time remaining when Van Persie took advantage of some sloppy play from Casillas to dispossess the goalkeeper inside the box before tapping the ball into an empty net to make it 4-1.

The remarkable victory was completed in the 80th minute when Robben eased past a number of Spanish defenders, before dodging Casillas and firing home his side's fifth to get their campaign off to the perfect start.

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Despite enduring a torrid evening, Casillas managed to prevent his side from conceding a sixth late on by denying Georgino Wijnaldum and Robben in the space of just a few seconds as Van Gaal's players cruised to a stunning win.

Written by
Callum Mulvihill