SAO PAULO (AP):

Two substitutes, two goals. Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal can, it seems, do no wrong at this World Cup.

He sent on replacements Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay in the second half of the match against Chile yesterday and they scored both goals in a 2-0 win that confirmed the Dutch as Group B winners with a maximum nine points.

"It is luck," Van Gaal himself said about his super substitutions. "Just luck."

But it was more than that. Fer, listed by FIFA as six feet two inches tall, scored with a header a minute after coming on as a substitute for the 5-feet-6-inches Wesley Sneijder.

"I know Leroy Fer is tall compared with our opponents. I know he can head the ball well," Van Gaal said.

Then there was Depay.

"We analysed that Chile, in the last 15 minutes, gives away more room," Van Gaal said. "If you have a creative player in at that moment, you have the chance to use that space."

Fer headed in powerfully in the 77th minute and Depay doubled his World Cup tally in stoppage time.

Chile, one of the most attacking and attractive teams at the World Cup, had no answer at the Itaquerao Stadium, especially not without midfielder Arturo Vidal who watched from the bench.

Juventus star Vidal had knee surgery before the tournament and had a sore Achilles tendon but said, a day before the match, he felt fit and ready to play.

Both teams had already advanced to the second round, but Chile's first loss of the tournament consigned it to second place in Group B and a meeting with hosts Brazil in Belo Horizonte.

The Dutch next travel to Fortaleza to play Group A runners-up Mexico in the round of 16 on June 29.