Martinez: Defeat not the end of the world

Javi Martinez said Spain will not be losing sleep if they are beaten by the Netherlands in their FIFA World Cup opener on Friday.

Spain kick off their title defence against the Netherlands in Group B action in Salvador – a rematch of the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa.

The Spanish are known to make slow starts at international tournaments, having lost their opening game to Switzerland (1-0) at the 2010 World Cup and drawn with Croatia (1-1) in game one at Euro 2012.

Both results were minor blemishes as Spain went on to win the World Cup in South Africa and the European Championships in Ukraine/Russia two years later.

And while Spain will be out to get the better of the Dutch, Martinez knows there is plenty of points up for grabs in Brazil as they attempt to win back-to-back World Cups.

“In 2010 we showed that if you lose the first game it’s not all over, but we want to get off to a winning start,” said the Spain utility, who can play in midfield and defence.

“To win the tournament you have to win as many games as possible, but in the last World Cup we showed that even after losing the first game, we wanted to get to the final.”

If Spain are to beat the Netherlands they must nullify the influence of Dutch trio Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder, according to Martinez.

Martinez singled out Bayern Munich team-mate Robben: “The greatest danger from them are their three top players, Sneijder, Robben and van Persie.

“Robben is strong on the counter-attack and uses space very well.”

Spain will also face Chile (June 18) and Australia (June 23) in Group B.