Spain v Netherlands: Arjen Robben looking for revenge against Iker Casillas but admits World Cup final miss is 'in the past'
Dutch winger admits he will never get over crucial miss in Johannesburg
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Your support makes all the difference.Arjen Robben is looking to exact revenge on Iker Casillas for the save the Spanish goalkeeper made in the 2010 World Cup final but insists he has recovered from the miss.
Robben was through one-on-one in Johannesburg with the score 0-0 but was denied by the Real Madrid goalkeeper’s outstretched leg – Spain went on to win the game after extra-time thanks to Andres Iniesta’s goal.
The Netherlands face Spain in a replay of that final at the Fonte Nova arena tonight in their World Cup opener, a daunting start for both teams in a tough Group B that also includes Chile and Australia.
But Robben joked with reporters when asked about the miss.
"I'm surprised it took five questions before it came up," he said. "Of course it will stay with me for the rest of my life, you can't deny that. But we are now looking ahead. That all doesn't count anymore.”
"It's in the past, it's one of those things that happens in sport.”
Since then Robben has won the treble and the double with Bayern Munich, scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final victory over Borussia Dortmund in 2012.
However, Robben admitted that games do not come much tougher than against the defending champions.
“This is a very tough group, but we have to look at our strong points,” he added.
“Look, we start against the world champions, so it will show how good we are.
“If we go through, we face a team from Group A, but we will take it one game at a time. We will do all we can to make a good start.
“We just prepare for it like any of the games. It’s special, there is additional pressure, but we can only focus on the now and not the past.
“We will prepare very well for the game.
“I don’t think we should explain how we plan to beat Spain, but we have trained and prepared well.”
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