A new member will be joining the World Cup champions club. Will it be the Netherlands or Spain?
Only seven countries - Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina and France - belong to that exclusive club. The last member to join was France in 1998.
The Netherlands reached the final game in 1974 and 1978, losing both times to Germany and Argentina respectively. Spain, the current European champion, will be playing in its first final. The pre-tournament favorite, will find the Dutch harder to get past than Germany. It could be a very close and cautious game.
Like Spain, the Netherlands plays good possession-soccer. The talented Wesley Sneijder, who led Inter Milan to beat Barcelona in Champions League play, is the engine of the Dutch team. Holland's bad boys, Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel, will seek to disrupt Spain's stylish game and rattle the Spanish ball-artistry of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.
The Dutch have deadly attacking power in Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben, while Spain will look to David Villa and Pedro Rodriguez. A good portion of the Dutch players, have played for Spanish clubs and know what to expect. It's all well and good, to hold possession and string 30 passes, but in the end, you have to try and score. That will be the task for Spain, the masters of the one-goal win in the knockout stage. The Netherlands have scored 12 goals to Spain's seven at these finals.
Both teams have gone through patchy periods in South Africa and have not lived up to their potential. Sometimes the soccer from both teams has been sluggish and ponderous. The Dutch have wasted numerous goal chances, while Spain has lacked an offensive punch and relied on late goals in crucial games.
The final pits two of the world's most attractive teams, in terms of attacking style and passing. Spain and the Netherlands have produced so many great stars down the years that they deserve a shot at winning the big one.
Spain is hard to beat with its crisp passing. The Spanish have only lost a couple of games since November 2006. The United States ended Spain's record 35-game unbeaten streak, at the Confederations Cup last year. And Spain did slip up in its first game of these finals losing 1-0 to Switzerland. The Dutch are also on a winning streak. The team is trying to equal Brazil's achievement in 1970 of winning every qualifying game and every World Cup match. In South Africa, the Netherlands has beaten Denmark, Japan, Cameroon, Slovakia, Brazil and Uruguay to reach the final game.
Both Holland's Sneijder and Spain's David Villa lead in World Cup scoring with five goals, and are eager to snatch the Golden Boot
“We play well,” Netherlands coach Bert Van Marwijk said. “Spain plays well, but they are more attractive and this is where we want to get, too.”
* The influence of Johan Cruyff is evident at this final. The former Dutch striker, who led the Netherlands to the 1974 finals, is the architect behind Barcelona's successful style in recent years. He coached Barcelona for eight years and instituted a successful youth program based on the Ajax system. Seven of Spain's starters play for the Catalan giants.
Howard Webb of England will referee the World Cup final. The 38-year-old has refereed three World Cup matches and has yet to show a red card or award a penalty kick.
This game is a hard one to call. Both teams are such a joy to watch. I'm going with the Netherlands winning 2-1.
What do you think?
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