The Fan

Spain edge poor final

The Editor — Mon, July 12th 2010

Spain 1 - Holland 0

With the Dutch team content to break up Spain’s rhythm through fair means or foul, it took 116 minutes for either team to break the deadlock in a deeply forgettable World Cup final.

Spain were unable to get their quick passing game moving and despite being the better team rarely looked like breaking down a stubborn Dutch performance. Holland were happy to rely on the pace and ability of Robben as their only attacking weapon, with Van Persie and Sneider offering little to trouble the Spanish defence.

Robben had one glorious chance to score and was denied a second by a small pull-back from Puyol. Robben stayed on his feet in an attempt to score finally tumbling when the chance had gone. Had he fallen he would have got a free-kick and Puyol would have been sent off, but it was the belief he could score rather than a sense of honesty that kept him on his feet.

It was a horribly niggly spectacle. Holland were happy to play rough and Spain happy to make a meal of any incident, and the referee struggled to keep control. There was a record number of bookings for a World Cup final - 14 - and none were harse. Indeed there could easily have been more red cards than the one that finally occurred in extra time. Neither side were happy with the referee, but both sides should look at there own antics before blaming the officials.

Finally, like Spain’s three previous knock out games, they managed to wear the opponent down and forced a single goal to win the game. Holland’s tactics were negative, and while they were within their rights to force a physical game and were at least partially successful in that they had chances to win the game in normal time, their game plan ultimately left them with a defeat that will not be remembered positively.

Listed in: Competitions, World Cup, World Cup 2010, Countries, Holland, Spain

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