The World Cup 2014 tournament is live and the Spain vs. Netherlands matchup starts at 3 pm ET on ESPN and is streaming online with a live stream from WatchESPN as the teams play in Salvador at the Arena Fonte Nova and the matchup is huge in Group B for Holland and has the defending champions looking to beat the Dutch in a rematch of the 2010 finals.
The game between Spain and the Netherlands could be one of the top matchups of the entire tournament and it surely is on the Friday schedule, as they play ahead of Chile and Australia in Group B. The matchup comes live at 3 pm ET and will be the main match on the schedule for the day and things head into the weekend with Group C and Group D playing games on Saturday.
Spain comes into the tournament as defending champions and while they are an older team, they are an experienced one and now they play against the Netherlands after defeating them in the 2010 tournament in South Africa. The team needs everyone to step up and while they are the favorites in the group, they know that the Dutch team is strong and they will not overlook Chile or Australia either. Spain comes in with a very strong back line and they are looking to dominate the Dutch and they have a chance to be a very strong team in Group B and that could lead to another deep run in the tournament.
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Mexico and Cameroon started off the day at 12 pm noon from Natal and the weather there was wet and cloudy and two goals were disallowed in the first half of that game for Mexico. The referees have not gotten high marks so far for the tournament, as they called a controversial penalty against Croatia in the opening match with Brazil and that goal broke a 1-1 tie and now Mexico had some bad fortune after one of their goals was called off an it should not have been and that could be a major factor as this World Cup rolls on.
The toughest draw in this tournament is the one for the United States and they have Germany, Portugal and Ghana to deal with. The US team is without Landon Donovan and that will make an impact and they matchup with Ghana, the team that has knocked them out of things the past two World Cup tournaments.
Andres Iniesta will be a key player for Spain and the main player for the Netherlands is Robin Van Persie and he is coming into things after being well rested and he could be a major factor in this game. VP was injured at the end of the season for Manchester United and he missed over a month of Premier League play and while that was tough for Wayne Rooney and Man U, he said heading into the World Cup that it may have helped him and now that he is rested he could be the player to change things for the Dutch.
Check here for the World Cup live coverage for Spain and the Netherlands in Group B.