Friday's match between Spain and the Netherlands was highly anticipated. After all, it was a rematch of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final that saw Spain win 1-0.
The game started much like the 2010 Final with the Netherlands playing chippy football, though it was not to the extreme it was four years earlier.
The Dutch had the first major chance of the game when Wesley Sneijder got a perfect through ball from Arjen Robben in the 8th minute. Sneijder took a shot, but it was directly at Iker Casillas who did well to get his right hand up. The game remained scoreless.
Spain had the next chance in the 13th minute. Diego Costa got a pass from Iniesta into the box, but was unable to get a shot off as he was closed down.
Spain continued to dominate possession and continued the pressure. The Netherlands' Bruno Martins Indi committed a turnover at midfield, which was picked up by David Silva. Silva found Diego Costa, but Costa's shot was well wide and no threat to the goalkeeper, Japser Cillessen.
In the 23rd minute, Sergio Ramos had a chance to score with a costless header from a corner kick, but the ball drifted away from his head and he could not connect with the ball.
The first breakthrough came from Spain when Diego Costa got brought down in the box by Dutch defender Stefan de Vrij. Xabi Alonso stepped up and placed the ball perfectly in the far left of the net to give Spain the 1-0 lead.
Spain continued to pour pressure onto the Dutch defense. In the 43rd minute, David Silva received a through ball from Iniesta and tried a chip shot over Jasper Cillessen. Cillessen did quite well to get a hand on the shot and deflected the ball out of play.
The Dutch would have one more major opportunity in the first half. In the 44th minute, Daley Blind put a perfectly placed cross into the box. Robin Van Persie made a diving header right over Iker Casillas who had no chance to save the shot. The Dutch tied the game at 1-1 with Robin Van Persie running over to celebrate with Louis Van Gaal.
In the first half, Spain had 69% possession. Expect Spain to continue to dominate possession and put the Dutch defense under pressure in the 2nd half. The Dutch will continue to attack with long balls and straddle the offsides line.
Worth noting is that two Dutch players have yellow cards. Jonathan de Guzman received a yellow in the 25th minute and Stefan de Vrij got a yellow for his Diego Costa challenge that led to Spain's penalty goal. As mentioned earlier, the Dutch have been playing chippy throughout the first half and it could cost them if one of their players gets a second yellow or a red card.