Reigning World Cup champions Spain will have an extremely tricky tie for their opening Group B game on Friday when they face off against the Netherlands at 3 p.m. EST at the Donte Nova Stadium in Salvador.
Today's game is one of the biggest match ups in the Group stages of this year's World Cup with both of these teams with excellent chances to make it through to the latter rounds of the tournament. The game will be shown on TV on ESPN and can also be watched online via the live stream link provided below.
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These two teams faced off four years ago, and that match was blighted by intense physical rivalry between the teams. The teams set a record for the number of yellow cards ever given in a World Cup Final, with Holland being handed out an amazing nine of the 14 cards.
Fans will remember Nigel de Jong's studs-up tackle to the chest of Spain's Xabi Alonso. He amazingly did not receive a red card, and frustrations and tensions rose to an even higher level.
It appeared as though the game would go to penalties, but with the scores still at 0-0 after 116 minutes, Spain's Andres Iniesta took a pass from Cesc Fabregas to score the winner and the entire Spanish nation erupted into celebration.
There will be no love lost between the teams when they meet again today, and both will be looking to make a statement in their opening game.
Spain are of course looking to retain their World Cup title won four years ago, however, their team has aged somewhat and many feel they are not as dominant as they once were. But no one can deny they still have skill and class in bucket-loads, and they will certainly be among the favorites to win the World Cup this year.
Spain against the Netherlands will kick off at 3 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, and can be watched online by clicking here.
Univision will live stream the first 56 World Cup matches for free on its website here. For viewers in the UK, BBC will be live streaming the match for free.
Watch a highlights video of the Brazil vs Croatia opening match below:
