Spain on Friday suffered the worst loss ever by a defending champion in the first match of a World Cup.
And to think the Netherlands' lopsided 5-1 victory over Spain, only the second defeat suffered by the Spanish in their last 55 matches, could have been plenty worse by the end of it.
Spain, who defeated the Netherlands to win the 2010 World Cup, can still make up for the loss with matches coming up against Chile (June 18) and Australia (June 23).
LOSSES BY DEFENDING CHAMPIONS TO START A WORLD CUP:
June 13, 2014: Netherlands 5, Spain 1 (Spain were 2010 champions)
May 31, 2002: Senegal 1, France 0 (France were 1998 champions)
June 8, 1990: Cameroon 1, Argentina 0 (Argentina were 1986 champions)
June 13, 1982: Belgium 1, Argentina 0 (Argentina were 1978 champions)
June 25, 1950: Sweden 3, Italy 2 (Italy were 1938 champions)
