The Sunday Mail
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque refused to single out any of his stunned players for blame after the holders crashed to a shocking 5-1 reverse to Netherlands in their World Cup Group B opener on Friday. It was their worst defeat at a World Cup since they lost 6-1 to Brazil in 1950 and only their fourth competitive loss under Del Bosque since he took over at the end of 2008.
“It’s certainly not a happy moment for us,” Del Bosque told a news conference.
“As a sportsman, I’d like to congratulate the Dutch side, they overwhelmed us in the second half,” added the 63-year-old.
“At this point it’s not time to point fingers of blame. We are all to blame.“We have to look ahead and go to our next match and secure a win against Chile.”
Spain can take a small scrap of comfort from the fact that they also lost their opening group game, a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland, on the way to winning their debut world title in South Africa four years ago, when they beat the Dutch 1-0 in the final.However, it will be harder for them to recover from Friday’s reverse, the biggest defeat for a defending champion in the opening game at the following tournament.
“Of course a defeat hurts and is painful for both for those on and off the pitch,” Del Bosque said.
“We’ve had a chat in the dressing room, a positive one, good for them. We have time to discuss things further.
“I feel very upset and disappointed but I have enough experience to understand this defeat.”
Spain can get their title defence back on track when they play Chile on Wednesday. — Supersport
