World Cup 2014 - 5 Things We Learned From The Opening Weekend

5. Total Football From Van Gaal's Men

On Friday evening the Dutch laid to rest the spectre of their much maligned performance against Spain in the final four years ago. A recent change in formation from Van Gaal prior to the tournament suggested that the Netherlands would be setting up ultra defensively against the defending champions but in reality they played with fantastic freedom as fullbacks De Vrij and Blind bombed forward and pressed the Spanish back deep into their own half.. Del Bosque's men struggled to impose their tiki-taka style and their sloppiness in possession was compounded by a shocking error from their most experienced player, goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Dutch fans were ecstatic to see van Persie back to his prolific best, ably assisted by the electrifying pace of Arjen Robben. It is far too early to write Spain off, they remain one of the greatest sides of all time, but this crucial win will give the Netherlands huge confidence going forward and they will be strong favourites to top Group B now. Key Moment: As half time approached David Silva missed a gilt edged chance to put Spain two up and in complete control of proceedings. Moments later Blind played a ball over the top to van Persie who scored a stunning diving header to put the teams level at the break.