Former midfielder Van der Vaart was stinging in his assessment of La Roja's first two performances at Euro 2020 as they drew 0-0 with Sweden and 1-1 with Poland, leaving their progress to the last 16 dependent on a win over Slovakia.
He told NOS that Spain were "horrible" to watch, adding he would be happy for the Netherlands to meet them in the knockout phase as "all [Spain] do is pass from one side to the other".
Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke claimed Van de Vaart "wants his moment of glory and he's having it" as he sought to highlight how the ex-Real Madrid player played in the World Cup final 11 years ago that the Netherlands lost to Spain thanks to Andres Iniesta's extra-time goal.
It was Van der Vaart who attempted to block Iniesta's 116th-minute strike, to no avail.
He told El Partidazo de COPE: "I saw him in the World Cup final, and here at Las Rozas we have a photo of Iniesta's goal against the Netherlands with [Van der Vaart] next to him. You have to respect him.
"We're going to keep those words to motivate us a bit. We're not going to hang them up in the dressing room, but we're going to keep them in our memory if we play them."
Sarabia also said Van der Vaart was "mistaken with his comments", telling Radio Marca: "The only memory I have of that is the 2010 World Cup, in which he didn't come out so well because we won the final.
"We're not experiencing a wholly positive situation. If we had won one of the two games, everything would've been seen differently. What we have to do is to win on Wednesday to forget everything.
"I think we're playing well and we're getting there. We just need the ball to go in. We dominate games, we press well, they create few chances against us... I hope football will reward us and we'll win against Slovakia."
Spain must win to guarantee their progress from Group E, although a draw will also be enough if Poland do not beat Sweden.
The striker returned from a hamstring injury suffered at the start of 2020 to help Spurs finish in sixth place in the Premier League, securing the north London club a spot in next season's Europa League as a result.
Kane, 27, scored five goals in his final three outings to finish the campaign with 24 in all competitions, though he had sparked speculation over his future earlier in the year when admitting he would not stay at his boyhood club "for the sake of it".
However, Van der Vaart - who spent two years with Spurs - believes Kane does not have to leave in his pursuit to win trophies.
"I really hope that he's going to stay," Van der Vaart - an ambassador for the UEFA Europa League Trophy Tour - told Stats Perform News.
"I hope he's going to stay. Spurs have a great coach.
"It's a club that want to be a championship winner, and the Champions League. They can also pay the money.
"For me, the best thing is for Harry to stay."
While Van der Vaart wants Kane to continue in familiar surroundings, he is delighted to see a famous former Netherlands team-mate return to his roots.
Former Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben announced in July his decision to come out of retirement and sign a deal with Groningen – the club where the winger started his illustrious career.
"It's great. I really love it, because I think it's important for the Dutch league," Van der Vaart said of Robben's return.
"Robben is a great guy. He is so professional. He is still so fit. I always thought, 'Why did he stop?', because football is the best thing you can do.
"He stopped at Bayern Munich, but now it's so important that he's starting again and to go back home, to his former club.
"It's going to be different. He's always played for teams when, 80 per cent of the time, they were better than the opponent, but now you go to Groningen and maybe it's 50-50. That is a different way of playing."
Van der Vaart was speaking as part of this year's Europa League Trophy Tour, which has been collecting football boots from fans for Syrian refugees based in Jordan.
