Two nations chasing World Cup glory will do battle today in a match between Spain and the Netherlands. The 2014 World Cup group-stage match scheduled for 3 p.m. ET will be held at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador and can be live streamed here free. A Spanish language broadcast of the match can be found here (via Univision). Radio broadcast of the match can be found here. Additional TV coverage can be found on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
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After successfully defending their European title in 2012, the Spanish national team returns to the World Cup to do the same. Should they fail to, however, don't expect this to be the end of Spain's dominance. According to head coach Vicente del Bosque, La Furia Roja possess more than enough firepower to continue competing for years to come.
"We have an under-21 squad which has recently been European champions and we have renewed our players by 30 percent compared to 2010, so I'm not afraid of the future. We've seen this generation of players, what they have done and we want the younger players to emulate those older ones," del Bosque said (via the Mirror).
"We have a few players over 30, but not many in a squad of 23. We are not afraid of anyone or anything. The ambience in the squad is very good and we are very enthusiastic about it, even though it is a huge responsibility to defend your title as world champions."
When asked if Brazil could end Spain's dominant era, del Bosque added: "I hope that will not happen."
Will Spain be able to repeat its performance from the 2010 World Cup final this afternoon? Tell us @SportsWN
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Hopefully for Spain, Nigel de Jong will not repeat his karate-kick challenge from 2010. The 29-year-old made 33 league appearances for AC Milan last season, showing the same intense, defensive grit synonymous with his game. He finished the season averaging 2.2 tackles and 2.8 interceptions per match. The opposition was only able to dribble past him 0.7 times on average.
Spain's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Casillas; Alba, Martinez, Ramos, Juanfran; Alonso, Busquets, Xavi; Silva, Costa, Iniesta
Holland's Projected Lineup (5-3-2): Cillessen; Blind, Indi, Vrij, Vlaar, Janmaat; De Jong, De Guzman; Sneijder; Robben, Persie
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored)
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