Salvador (Brazil), June 14 (IANS): Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben, who struck twice in the Netherlands's 5-1 mauling of Spain, said the Dutch must not lose their focus following their brilliant win in their World Cup opener.
For the Dutch the 5-1 win may have been a sweet revenge of the 0-1 loss to Spain in an ill-tempered final four years ago in South Africa. But for Robben these two matches were completely different.
Robben was feeling fantastic after scoring two thrilling goals against the defending champions here at the Arena Fonte Nova here amidst heavy rains Friday.
"It's a fantastic feeling to have scored those goals," Robben told FIFA.com. "I have to say, I'm just so proud of my team. It's always nice to score a couple of goals but I'm far prouder of the side. I'm proud of our performance because that's what really matters."
It was the second time that Robben had made amends for previous shortcomings on the international stage. After missing a penalty in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final that Bayern lost on home turf, it was Robben who hit the winner a year later in the continental decider against Borussia Dortmund.
And this latest performance against La Furia Roja, as the Spanish team is known, goes some way to making up for his miss when one-on-one with Casillas in the 2010 final, even if the stakes were rather different.
"You can't compare this game with that one from four years ago," Robben said. "Back then it was a final and today it was a group match. We played against the toughest opponents and, in pure footballing terms, the best team in the world. We matched them well and took our chances."
Robben said Netherlands need to build on their display in their second group fixture.
"We need to stay focused and just keep doing what we have been doing. Tomorrow we start again," he said.