Netherlands goes nuts after World Cup demolition of Spain

The Netherlands exorcised their demons from the last tournament, when they lost to Spain in the final, this time trouncing the reigning world and European champions 5-1.

In an unusual move, the mayor of Amsterdam allowed pubs to stay open for one hour longer than usual as football fans watched Holland take on Spain in the World Cup finals.

About 7.2 million Dutch people watched the match, rising to 7.5 million for the after show – that’s half the population of the Netherlands.

The Dutch reacted with delight, with some fans taking to social media to share their admiration for Dutch coach Louis van Gaal and their hero of the moment, Robin van Persie, who scored a magnificent header – mimicked by fans who appear to have nicknamed his daring leap “Vanperseing”, dubbed by one “a worthy successor to planking”.

Front page in Netherlands today: brilliantly orange. (via @_Rosamary_) pic.twitter.com/SfvUMCaWca

— sportingintelligence (@sportingintel) June 14, 2014

Spanje getemd… pic.twitter.com/d9adBU5YEA

— andre meilink (@AndreMeilink) June 13, 2014

De nieuwste online hype en waardig opvolger van #planking; #persieing… Ben benieuwd naar jullie foto’s! ;-) pic.twitter.com/Cc5PKjCEVf

— Remco van Buren (@RemcovanBuren) June 14, 2014

Made in Holland. #oranje #ESPHOL #Nedspa pic.twitter.com/M7cofRLzwG

— Ron Meyer (@MeyerRon) June 13, 2014

Kan t niet laten; nog eentje dan :-) #spaned pic.twitter.com/Vk29XHkMqE

— Bart de Liefde (@deliefde) June 13, 2014

MT @InsoliteFoot #CM2014 : Van Gaal, the new king of Brazil
via @yvessimonsevy pic.twitter.com/DL2SVR7HMT

— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) June 13, 2014