Van Persie stays grounded

Five days after that win over Spain, Robin van Persie’s Flying Dutchman goal has gone into social media folklore.

The Dutch striker, who takes on Australia today in both teams’ second Group B match, arguably provided the highlight of the World Cup so far with his spectacular diving header in the 5-1 win.

And it’s now gone viral, with a host of van Persie photoshop efforts doing the rounds — from DJing, to outer space to Disney movies.

Van Persie, for one, is refusing to get carried away by the magnitude of thrashing the World Cup holders.

He told reporters: “After such a performance, the dynamics have naturally changed.

“However, as a country, we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. We have to stay realistic. 

“We achieved an impressive result but we have a long way to go to win this tournament. 

“This is my fifth [major] tournament and I know how these things work: the euphoria vanishes just as quickly as it appears.”

Australia were competitive but ultimately came up short against Chile, although veteran Tim Cahill caught the eye with an excellent header and dangerous performance.

Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong is, therefore, on high alert.

“He’s a terrific player that always gives his heart and his all on the pitch, for his country or his club.

“We have to be careful because the timing to the ball with his headers is one of the best.

“He is one of the best timers I have seen from all the players around the world. So we have to take care of that very well. We have to take this game very serious.”