World Cup Day Two: Spain v. Netherlands

Spain may not be favourites this time around, but they're the strongest of the European contenders, a phenomenal side improved from the South African edition by the inclusion of Diego Costa. The striker was born in Brazil but has rather controversially chosen to represent Spain, giving the defending World Cup champions one of the best strikers in the game. The only real question is whether his hamstring—injured towards the end of the season with Atletico Madrid—will hold up.

The Netherlands, meanwhile, enter this World Cup with mostly the same squad that faced Spain at the 2010 finals. And that bombed out of the 2012 European Championships rather ignominiously. Bigger in reputation than in actual on the field quality this time around, they're still a dangerous if ageing squad, though Spain will be favoured to win tonight and Chile seem likely to beat them to second in the group.

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