Pace and width now priceless commodities

"A healthy dressing room is worth more than 100 hours of tactics," declared Vicente Del Bosque as he and his team prepared to jet off to Brazil to defend their title.

He’s right, of course. Without the right team spirit, all for one and one for all, any amount of tactical cleverness will almost certainly be nullified, as the Dutch have proven on numerous occasions.

By a nice irony, it was the tactical bravery of Louis Van Gaal and his Dutch side which ripped Spain apart in 27 minutes in Salvador last month, thus setting the tone for the World Cup.