World Cup final matchups: Netherlands vs Spain

BARRY WILNER, AP
JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Matchups for Sunday's World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City:
When the Netherlands has the ball
Possession, possession, possession.

The Dutch like to build their attack from the back, meaning the far back: goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg often begins the buildup with passes to his defenders. Captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored the first goal against Uruguay in the semifinals, but he's rarely involved in the offense. Instead, the idea is to get the ball from the back line to creative midfielders Wesley Sneijder, Mark van Bommel, Rafael van der Vaart and Nigel de Jong, who was suspended for the semifinals.

They, in turn, probe defenses while allowing Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Dirk Kuyt to making darting runs outside and, often in the case of Van Persie, to the inside. Sneijder usually is the man in control of the ball and distributing it to the forwards.

But Sneijder certainly can finish, and his five goals tie him for the World Cup lead. He's also adept at free kicks, as is Robben. Watch for Robben to do everything he can to get the ball on his left foot in space, particularly at the edge of the penalty area. And watch the frenetic Kuyt, who pops up all over the attacking zone.

The deep Dutch offense will test Spain's outstanding defenders, forcing them to close down quickly as the Netherlands gets close to the box. Outside halfbacks Joan Capdevila and Sergio Ramos will be very busy.

When Spain has the ball

Possession, possession ... you get the idea.

No team in the world passes better than Spain. Its game is based on precision, and like the Dutch, the Spaniards often get keeper Iker Casillas to initiate with passes to his defenders. But he's also more likely to play a long goal kick toward midfielders Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and Andres Iniesta, or even to strikers David Villa or Fernando Torres if he starts. Torres has struggled to recover from knee surgery and barely played in the semifinal win over Germany.

Villa is Spain's best finisher, and is tied with Sneijder for top scorer in the tournament. His quick bursts get him into open areas, and he's accurate with either foot.

Villa also is a sparkplug, the most exciting performer on a squad filled with artistic players such as Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso.
Spain's only goal against Germany, despite dominating the match, came on a set piece, and Xavi is masterful on corner kicks and free kicks. Watch for the taller Spaniards such as defender Gerard Pique and midfielder Sergio Busquets in front of the net on corner kicks, although it was the shorter Carles Puyol who powered in a header off Xavi's corner kick for the winner in the semifinals.
The Netherlands has been criticized for being slow on defense. If that's true, Van Bronckhorst, Gregory van der Wiel, John Heitinga and Joris Mathijsen could be under siege.
Goalkeeping

Casillas is among the world's best keepers and has been for years, earning him the nickname San Iker in Spain. He's particularly masterful cutting down angles on shooters, and he made two huge saves late in the semifinals after Uruguay pulled within 3-2. As Spain's captain, he obviously has leadership skills, and he's among the most popular players on the team. This is his third World Cup.
For Stekelenburg, it's his first. He's been a tad inconsistent and let in a shot by Diego Forlan against Uruguay that perhaps he should have stopped with his arms. But Forlan regularly scores on lots of keepers.
Stekelenburg will be the tallest player on the field and he might need every bit of it to handle the sharp shots the Spaniards can send his way. He is new to this level of competition and generally has handled himself well. He also has not faced an attack like this.

Coaching

Bert van Marwijk's biggest accomplishment might be meshing a variety of big names with various styles into a Clockwork Oranje. This is a more patient Dutch team than most, and it doesn't panic and change its style of play when it falls behind. The most impressive performance thus far came when the Netherlands rallied to beat Brazil in the quarterfinals. The Dutch stuck to their game plan, a testament to how prepared van Marwijk has them.

Vicente del Bosque has been considered something of a caretaker for Spain; Luis Aragones put together the squad that he guided to the 2008 European Championship.

Del Bosque made a few adjustments when he replaced Aragones, particularly in the midfield, where he opted for Busquets' more defensive style instead of Cesc Fabregras. Generally, he has stayed out of the way and let his group's talent and on-field leadership carry it. Showing faith in his players even after a weak start to the tournament in a 1-0 loss to Switzerland was his best move.

Intangibles

Now is the time for both teams, whose key performers are in their primes.

The Dutch have won zero World Cups. Spain has won the same number. So the incentive is massive to erase previous failings, particularly for the Netherlands, which lost the 1974 and '78 finals to West Germany and Argentina. Spain has had an even more checkered history, wasting just as much talent with weak showings at major events.

The Netherlands likely will have more fan support at the final in Soccer City, which just happens to have orange seats for those who believe in omens.

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Octopus Paul predicts Spain to win World Cup

BERLIN (Reuters) -- Germany's oracle octopus Paul picked Spain to beat the Netherlands in the World Cup final on Sunday in a live television broadcast watched across Europe.

The two-year-old celebrity octopus, who has accurately picked the outcome of all six of Germany's World Cup matches so far, quickly tipped Spain to beat the Netherlands. It took him only three minutes to make up his mind.
"That was fast -- it looks like a clear-cut victory for Spain," said Tanja Munzig, spokeswoman for Sea Life in Oberhausen. She was surprised by his speed in picking Spain. For some matches it took Paul 70 minutes to decide.
The octopus, considered by some to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates, got the choice of picking food from two different transparent containers lowered into his tank -- one with a Dutch flag on it and one with Spain's flag.
Reaction in Spain was swift, with the country's biggest selling sports daily website Marca.com running the headline: "The octopus Paul makes us champions".
The container Paul opens first is regarded as his pick. On Friday he wasted no time in diving for the container on the right side with the Spanish flag on it.
Two German television networks interrupted their programming for live coverage of the two-year-old celebrity octopus's picks. Networks in Spain, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe also broadcast Paul's decision live.
Earlier on Friday, Germans heaved a sigh of relief when Paul tipped Germany to beat Uruguay in the World Cup match for third place. There were cheers in offices across Germany after crowds of viewers tuned in to watch Paul live.
Normally he only picks Germany matches. But for the final Sea Life made an exception.
The octopus in Oberhausen turned into a global celebrity for correctly picking the winners of all six of Germany's World Cup matches -- including their two defeats to Serbia and Spain.
On Friday Paul first settled on top of the Germany container but after a few minutes shifted to the Uruguay container. Then after about 15 minutes he went back to Germany container, quickly opened the lid and ate the morsel of food inside.
Not an ordinarily superstitious people, Germans have become believers in Paul's possible psychic powers. The country was shocked and distraught when he picked Spain to beat Germany after tipping German wins over Argentina, England, Ghana and Australia.
Paul's selections have become top news across Germany and around the world. Some commentators even wondered aloud whether his improbable winning streak might have begun to influence some of the more superstitious players.
But after Paul accurately picked Spain to beat Germany in the semi-final, some Germans called for a public roasting of the oracle octopus. Newspapers and websites were filled with suggestions on how to cook and eat him.
Officials at Sea Life in Oberhausen have installed extra security to protect their octopus.
"Paul is in safe hands with us," said Munzig.
Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was quoted in Spanish media reports saying -- in jest -- he was concerned about Paul's safety.
"I am concerned for the octopus...I am thinking of sending him a protective team," Zapatero said.
Spain's Environment and Fisheries Minister Elena Espinosa also said: "On Monday I shall be at the European Council of Ministers and I shall be asking for a (fishing) ban on Paul the octopus so Germans do not eat him."

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/world-cup-2010/07/09/paul.octopus/index.html#ixzz0tBpORei1

Photo: AFP

WC 2010 :Goal of the tournament by Gio Van Bronckhorst

Ghana carry Africa's hopes, Brazil face Dutch

Reuters - 1 hour ago

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Ghana carried the hopes of a continent in Africa's first World Cup on Friday while Brazil's coach Dunga said their quarter-final with the Netherlands could be one of the most thrilling matches of the tournament.

While all of Africa got behind the Black Stars for their attempt to be the first Africans to reach the semi-finals when they face Uruguay on Friday, FIFA threatened to sanction Nigeria for political interference.
Jerome Valcke, secretary general of soccer's governing body, said Nigeria would be suspended from world soccer if President Goodluck Jonathan did not reverse his withdrawal of the team from international competition because of its dismal World Cup performance.
Speaking in a local radio interview, Valcke gave Nigeria a deadline of 1600 GMT on Monday to comply.

The sanction would mean the blocking of FIFA funds and the banning of all Nigerian teams, including club sides, from international tournaments.

FIFA had already warned the French government to keep out of soccer after parliament launched an inquiry into the 2006 runner-up's ignominious early exit here.
A survey in the Netherlands, which has never won the trophy despite its admired style of free-flowing soccer, said 40 percent of all workers would take the day off, or a half-day, to watch the afternoon match in Port Elizabeth.
"They are always difficult and beautiful games," said Dunga of the match. He captained the five-times World Cup winners to victory over the same opponents in the 1994 and 1998 tournaments.
AFRICAN MOOD

Reflecting a mood across the continent, South African newspapers had headlines backing Ghana's attempt to beat the previous best performance by an African team. "Africa Unite, Black Stars carry continent's dream," said the Sowetan.

The Ghana Football Association said it had received a message of support from Nelson Mandela, Africa's most revered statesman. "We join everybody else on the continent and in the diaspora in wishing you success," Mandela said.
The provincial government of Gauteng, around Johannesburg, South Africa's business hub, has taken out newspaper advertisements and put up posters backing Ghana.
Striker Asamoah Gyan said they could make history.
"We have an opportunity to do something never done before... we have no doubt we have all the African support."
The first two quarter-finals restart the World Cup action after a two-day lull.

The Netherlands' four-out-of-four wins in South Africa have been solid rather than spectacular. Yet with attacking talent like Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie and Rafael van der Vaart, they pose a real threat to the Brazilians.

"We play our better games against teams that want to play football as well," winger Ryan Babel said.

Dunga has also complained about previous over-defensive opponents and echoed Babel's sentiments. "When you have teams like this, it's always good," he said.

For all their legendary strike power, Brazil have also become masters in defense under Dunga.

Despite criticism at home for abandoning flair, Dunga appears to have found a winning formula of impregnable, European-style defense combined with the lightning-fast counter-attack capacity of Robinho, Kaka and Luis Fabiano.

Cameroon and Senegal reached the quarter-finals in 1990 and 2002. To chart new territory, Ghana need to beat a mean-looking Uruguay side, who are one of an unprecedented four South American teams in the quarters.

"It is a match of destiny which places an onerous responsibility on the Black Stars," Ghana's former president John Kufuor told Reuters.

Uruguay also have history calling them.

"La Celeste" won the World Cup in 1930 and 1950 and would love to recapture those early glory days. Strike pair Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez's five goals between them so far would suggest the South Americans may have the upper hand.

President Jacob Zuma said the World Cup would inspire all Africans regardless of the result because it showed the continent was capable of managing a huge global event.

Zuma said in an interview with FIFA that the World Cup could be a stepping stone to a first Olympics on the continent.

The other two quarter-finals, on Saturday, pit Argentina against Germany and Paraguay v Spain.
FIFA said the captain of every quarter-finalist would read out a declaration condemning racism and any other form of discrimination in both soccer and society.
(Reporting by Reuters World Cup team; Writing by Barry Moody and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Ossian Shine)


Pictures from AFP.