Dutch haunt Spain with 2-0 win

Amsterdam, April 1

Netherlands revived bitter Spanish memories from last year's World Cup finals when they beat a second-string La Roja 2-0 in a friendly on Tuesday to become the first team to inflict two defeats on coach Vicente del Bosque.

Rather than reliving their World Cup final triumph against the Dutch from 2010, Spain were overrun in the opening 20 minutes at the Amsterdam Arena, falling behind to goals from Stefan de Vrij in the 13th minute and Davy Klaassen three minutes later.

The superiority of the home side recalled their 5-1 thrashing of the Spanish in the group stage in Brazil last year, a defeat which signalled the end of Spain's glittering six-year run when they won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships and the 2010 World Cup.

Del Bosque, who had not lost twice to the same side since taking over in 2008, did field a largely experimental lineup, with Malaga forward Juanmi and Sevilla midfielder Vitolo making their international debuts.

"It seems impossible that we didn't score," Del Bosque told a news conference. The first 20 minutes set us back," he added. "Later, we managed to control the game, we dominated and created chances but were just missing the goal."

England eke out 1-1 draw 

England displayed a resilient performance on Tuesday night as they came from behind to play out a 1-1 draw against Italy in a friendly tie in Turin.  Southampton striker Graziano Pelle's first-half header put Italy ahead in the 29th minute before Andros Townsend's spectacular late second-half strike leveled the score for Roy Hodgson's side, the BBC reported. — Reuters