Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Daley Blind: Spain will be out for revenge against Netherlands

Daley Blind believes Spain will be seeking revenge for their World Cup thrashing when they meet Netherlands on Tuesday.

Vicente del Bosque's side arrived in Brazil last summer as reigning champions but suffered their heaviest defeat since 1963 as they lost their first group game 5-1 to a Netherlands team including Manchester United's Blind.

Spain were eliminated in the group stage, while Louis van Gaal's Dutch team went on to finish third.

The sides face each other again in a friendly in Amsterdam, and Blind expects the heavy defeat last June to motivate Spain.

"I think so -- I would have some revenge feelings if I lost against a team too," he told MUTV. "That wouldn't only be after a game at the World Cup, though.

"If you lose against any team, you always want to win the next time you play them. So I think they will have those feelings."

Blind set up Robin van Persie's spectacular equaliser in Brazil with a long pass that the Netherlands captain met with a superb diving header.

The injured Van Persie will miss the game but Blind could come up against United teammate David de Gea, who he thinks is one of the outstanding goalkeepers in the game.

"David is doing a great job here this season," the former Ajax player added. "He's one of the best keepers in the world at the moment.

"We're very happy that he's in goal, and he has made some great saves. All the credit goes to him. He works very hard and is getting better all the time.

"His shot-stopping is one of his best skills, but you also have to look at how he plays [with his feet] and how he comes for crosses -- the way he has improved that is very impressive.

"He has got better in every way. The skills when he is saving goals and also the skills with his feet: they make him an all-round keeper and that's one of the best things about him."

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