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CLASSY SPAIN BEATS GERMANY 1-0; FACE NETHERLANDS IN THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP FINAL By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Thu, 08 Jul 2010  If the art of possession is the key when two equally matched teams face each other, then the classy Spain squad who dominated most of the first half and broke down every German thrust in the second deserved their 1-0 victory that sent them into the FIFA World Cup finals for the very first time against the Netherlands at 2:30 a.m. on July 12. That match will be telecast "live" by ABS-CBN on SkyCable's "Balls" Channel 34 as well as Studio 23. The eagerly anticipated clash between the European champions Spain and former World Cup winners Netherlands could well turn into a classic given the quality of the two teams and the undoubted individual skills of players on both teams. Germany who had stunned highly favored England and then Argentina scoring four goals in each match and conceding only one goal to an outclassed England side, failed to show the same attacking fluidity against a Spanish team that lifted its game to remarkable heights following a lackluster quarter final victory over Paraguay. Against the young German side where 21 of its 23 players had never played in the World Cup before, the Spanish showed their uncanny ability to keep possession for long periods with snappy and precise passing and sound positional play. After Carlos Puyol, the Barcelona defender soared way up high above team mate Gerard Pique to power a stinging header past German goalkeeper. Neuer, Spain defended resolutely to repeatedly thwart an increasingly desperate German side and savor their first ever World Cup final on Sunday at Soccer City. Spain had a glorious opportunity to score a second goal but Pedro selfishly tried to go through on his own instead of tapping the ball to a completely unmarked Fernando Torres who came off the bench to spell David Villa and lost a chance to help the Liverpool striker regain some measure of confidence before the finals. Pedro realized his blunder and apologized profusely to Torres and Spanish coach Vicente Del Bosque. BBC Sport?s Paul Fletcher reporting from Durban said the Germans who had ripped England and Argentina on cracking counter-attacks had few opportunities on the counter against Spain, leaving the Germans to taste their second successive defeat in the semi final stage of the World Cup. While the Spanish team looked assured working the ball around midfield Germany appeared to bank on set plays which somehow didn?t seem to work. The Spain-Netherlands final demonstrates the ascendency of a more controlled brand of football in Europe over the free-flowing individual brilliance of the South American teams. FIFA.com reflected on a series of intriguing statistics from the exciting match at Durban Stadium. 98 matches in the FIFA World Cup is the unprecedented figure Germany reached today. They previously shared the record with Brazil, who have participated in all 19 editions of the competition compared to Die Nationalelf's 17. Italy (80), Argentina (70) and England (59) are next on the list of most FIFA World Cup games, while Spain (55) have now moved above France into outright sixth place. 32 years after Argentina and the Netherlands competed to lift the Trophy for the first time, Spain's 1-0 victory over Germany ensured the FIFA World Cup Final will again be contested by two uncrowned teams. 28 years after West Germany became the last reigning European champions to reach the FIFA World Cup Final, Spain became the fourth. Italy achieved the feat in 1970 and the Germans followed suit four years later. 26 minutes and 52 seconds was what it took for the first foul to be committed at Durban Stadium, with Sergio Ramos bringing down Lukas Podolski. 25 years and 299 days is what gave Germany the youngest starting line-up in a FIFA World Cup semi-final for 48 years ? Yugoslavia?s XI had an average age 154 days younger in their 3-1 loss to Czechoslovakia at Chile 1962. Die Nationalelf's average would have been younger had the suspended Thomas Muller, 20, played in place of his 26-year-old replacement Piotr Trochowski. 12 different countries have now reached the FIFA World Cup Final: Uruguay, Argentina, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Brazil, West Germany, Sweden, England, the Netherlands, France and Spain. 7 Barcelona players meant Spain started a FIFA World Cup semi-final with the most representatives from one club in 40 years. Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Pedro and David Villa ensured La Roja became only the third side to start a semi-final with seven men from the same club ? Czechoslovakia in 1934 and Uruguay in 1970 had the same number from Slavia Prague and Nacional respectively. 6 consecutive clean sheets in knockout matches at the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship is the record Spain set today. Italy managed five between 1994 and 2000, although their 676 minutes without conceding in knockout games at the two aforementioned tournaments is 61 minutes more than La Roja's current run. 0 goals had been scored at half-time for the fourth successive time in FIFA World Cup semi-finals involving Germany. They went on to win in 1990 and 2002, but lost four years ago and today. Spain defended resolutely to repeatedly thwart an increasingly desperate German side and savor their first ever World Cup final on Sunday at Soccer City. Spain had a glorious opportunity to score a second goal but Pedro selfishly tried to go through on his own instead of tapping the ball to a completely unmarked Fernando Torres who came off the bench to spell David Villa and lost a chance to help the Liverpool striker regain some measure of confidence before the finals. Pedro realized his blunder and apologized profusely to Torres and Spanish coach Vicente Del Bosque. BBC Sport?s Paul Fletcher reporting from Durban said the Germans who had ripped England and Argentina on cracking counter-attacks had few opportunities on the counter against Spain, leaving the Germans to taste their second successive defeat in the semi final stage of the World Cup. While the Spanish team looked assured working the ball around midfield Germany appeared to bank on set plays which somehow didn?t seem to work. The Spain-Netherlands final demonstrates the ascendency of a more controlled brand of football in Europe over the free-flowing individual brilliance of the South American teams. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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