Sao Paulo: Substitutes Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay converted brilliant assists provided by Arjen Robben as the Netherlands beat Chile 2-0 to finish on top of Group B in the World Cup here on Monday.
Fer scored with his first touch of the match in the 77th minute when Robben curled one inside the box and he outjumped everyone to angle his header perfectly to beat seasoned Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo as regular captain Robin van Persie applauded from the stands.
Young Depay tapped home the second goal in the second minute of stoppage time as Robben sprinted down the left wing virtually unchallenged before providing a nice low cross for the the 20-year-old to score.
Netherlands finished on top of Group B with nine points while Chile also went into the round of 16 with six.
Having scored 10 goals in the group league engagements, the Dutchmen also hold an envious record of scoring two or more goals in their last 13 international engagements.
It was a twin substitution from the Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal that worked wonderfully for the winners.
Norwich City’s Fer and PSV Eindhoven’s Depay’s introduction in place of off-colour Wesley Sniejder and Jermaine Lens worked wonders for the Oranje brigade.
Just before the strike, it was Depay whose 25-yard pile driver was brilliantly fisted by Bravo for a corner. In the next move, the goalie wasn’t lucky though.
Chile could have got the lead at the stroke of half-time when unamrked Felipe Gutierrez failed to nod home a Marcelo Diaz free-kick.
Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez was active down right for the South Americans but couldn’t provide the decisive result for his team.
Locked goalless at the break, Sanchez came out with renewed vigour as he posed a few problems for the Oranje back four.
In the 65th minute, Sanchez showed flashes of brilliance as he hoodwinked forward Jeremain Lens, who had to fall back in defence, by cutting past him putting the ball between his legs and running through his blind side before his shot was parried away by Dutch goalie Cilessen.
With Lens turning out to be a poor substitute for van Persie, coach Louis van Gaal had no other option but to pull him out and introduce Depay, which changed the course of the match.
Spain win 3-0
Meanwhile, Dethroned champions Spain bowed out of the World Cup with a 3-0 win over Australia thanks to goals from David Villa, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata in Curitiba.
Villa, who is set for a three-month spell in Australia with Melbourne City after, became the fourth Spanish player to score in three World Cups when he backheeled home Juanfran’s cross for his 59th international goal in his 97th and final appearance for La Roja nine minutes before half time.
Andres Iniesta then marked his 100th cap for his country with a lovely through ball for Torres to double Spain’s advantage on 69 minutes before Mata slotted home a third eight minutes from time.
Victory means Spain finished third in Group B behind Chile and group winners the Netherlands, whilst Australia slipped to a third consecutive defeat. (Agencies)
Group B final standings
Team P W D L GD Pts
Netherlands 3 3 0 0 7 9
Chile 3 2 0 1 2 6
Spain 3 1 0 2 -3 3
Australia 3 0 0 3 -6 0