After that defeat, Dutch drown their sorrows in ... Spanish wine

Spanish wine was probably not the preferred tipple at the Dutch consul general's residence at such a time. But alcohol, as they say, is the great consoler.

So one of the first things Spanish consul general Juan Luis Flores Arroyuelo did when he received an invitation to the home of his Dutch counterpart to celebrate the World Cup final was to send over some cava, or Spanish sparkling wine.

'The Dutch and the Spanish are friends,' Arroyuelo said.

In a show of solidarity, Arroyuelo and Dutch consul general Robert Schuddeboom were all smiles as they exchanged ties for the cameras. Schuddeboom said the Dutch could have won the match - which they lost 1-0. He described the game as tough and complicated, but conceded that the World Cup went to the slightly better team.

Following in the tentacles of Paul, the octopus that correctly picked winners of this year's World Cup matches, Schuddeboom tried to predict the outcome of the final with his dog. He offered two pieces of bread, representing the Netherlands and Spain, to Toby, an 11-year-old cocker spaniel he got from Hong Kong Dog Rescue, during a barbecue at the weekend. Toby picked the Netherlands. 'Toby got it wrong. The octopus was right,' he said.

Schuddeboom said he expected the Netherlands to emerge victorious over Spain in the semi-finals of the 2012 European Championships.