Holland vs. Spain

After 31 days of World Cup football, the climax of the tournament will see Holland face Spain in the first ever World Cup final on African soil. This game will be played on Sunday the 11th July, 2010, in Soccer City, Johannesburg. Both teams will be find themselves in a chance to win their first ever World Cup in their history and either one of them can be crowned the 8th nation to win a world cup. Holland and Spain have never met in a big tournament and both stepping into unmarked territory.

Holland reached their third world cup final since 1978 without requiring to show off their total football style. It can be said that the Netherlands are withholding themselves from reaching their potential until they get to the final or they just found the goals at the right time for being at the right place. That would extend to one man, Arjen Robben, his injury could be a blessing in the end as their World Cup campaign exploded when he came back into the scenes. That boost gave the squad a much needed push and Van Persie along with fellow Premier League star, Dirk Kuyt, to play with confidence. No one more than Wesley Sneijder has enjoy a better tournament, his is a prime example of adversity. Ban from wearing the Real Madrid shirt, he was offload to Inter Milan and showed the world that he is still a winner, by winning treble with the Italian champion this season and within whiskers away of a lifting the biggest prize in football for the first time. He is also a candidate for the best player in the World Cup and wining the World Cup could set him as favorites for both European and World Players of the Year awards. Coach Bert Van Marwijk played his part in taking his men to the final by bring on Rafael Van der Vaart in the 2nd half against Uruguay. The game swung into the Dutch’s favor and never looked back, a genius master stroke and that shows the depth of the Dutch side that is ready to incarnate their names into the World Cup champions list. Gregory Van Der Wiel and Nigel De Jong are set to return to the starting line up on Sunday while Demy De Zeeuw suffered a jaw injury was not as bad as first feared.

Spain beat Germany 1-0 in their ever semifinals appearance and now generous reward in a first ever appearance in the World Cup final. They seems to be breaking grounds in the World Cup if they are set to win the final game as there has never been a champion lifting the cup after losing their opening game. Their 1-0 defeat to Switzerland in the group stages have given the Spanish team a warning of what complacency could do to them. Ever since that defeat, Spain have won the last five consecutive games and four of last wins was with a goal. Striker David Villa have carried the team ever since the group stages but it was defender Carlos Puyol winning header that see them through to the final, repeating a feat in the Euro 2008 final. The Spanish control large part of the game and deservedly won the game after wearing down their opponent. It was a change of the formation that helped Spain to keep possession of the ball as Fernando Torres was dropped to the bench in favor of a 4-5-1 formation. The passing and movement were more fluid, improving from their quarterfinals match against Paraguay, however it was still no vintage performance from the Spanish. Coach Del Bosque will yet again tinker with his best formation to face Holland in a once in a life time opportunity to lift the cup, stretching a golden era of Spanish players finally emerging from their shadows of their past results in the World Cup. The focus will surely come from the midfield but the success of the Spanish campaign will need the defense to be on song yet again, as they were tested against Germany and the defensive line of Puyol, Pique, Ramos and Capdevilla responded well.

The World Cup will have a first-time winner in 2010 and rightly so as two European teams will meet in a grand finale watched by billions all over the world. The Netherlands marches on into the World Cup final by beating Uruguay 3-2 in the semifinals and set a new World Cup with 14 consecutive World Cup games (qualifiers and tournament). This determination and bond they have looks to put to a rest that the Dutch camp will find a way to self destruct. Spain showed their mentality strengthen by demonstrating that they can defend and boss the game while winning game ugly if necessary. They might not get enough bodies in the box when attacking and that explains their low scoring rate in the World Cup. Two of the most inform players, Holland’s Sneijder and Spanish’s David Villa might be fight to lift the cup but on a personal level, the top scorer and player of the tournament award in also on the line. The Spanish are weak favorites to take this.

What BettingExpert Team Predict

I completely agree with Joachim. We saw in Holland vs. Brazil that Holland were overmatched, I blame it more on the mistakes by Brazil than on the qualities on Holland that they managed to kick Brazil out of the World Cup. Yesterday Spain showed what they are capable of and we’ll see a 3-1 victory for Spain in the Final! (Jesper)

Both finalist are about to set new records and Spain could be the second team to lift the World Cup as the reigning European Champions. (Joe )

Spain finally seem to have found their ultimate form, while the Netherlands still managed to struggle against a rather harmless Uruguayan side. It will be an easy win for Spain, and a one-sided final. There simply is no Mourinho to stop this kind of play this time around. (Joachim )

Well, 3 games 3 goals, lets say 4 games and 4 goals. This time one goal will not be enough for Spain, as I believe the Dutch attack stand a better chance than the Germans. Spain will thankfully be defeated 2-1 by the Dutch. (Marc )