Holland have made it to their third final after a 32-year wait following their victory over the only South American team left remaining in the competition. Holland's win means that for the second successive tournament, we will have another European champion in what was predicted to be a year for the South Americans to savour. Uruguay's controversial win over Ghana has been debated to death for the past week and the South American team (minus Suarez) were out to prove their worth against a Dutch side that has been more clinical than classy in the way they have played their football.
Both sides were desperate for a place in the final - it is said that the worst defeat you can suffer is in the semi-final: you are so close but yet so far. This probably explains why the two teams started off so tentatively, unwilling to really get out of their area and careful when it came to defending. It looked like we were going to see two teams sitting tight for the majority of the game and only really trying to score from things like set pieces. It certainly started off that way, although Dirk Kuyt had a really good chance which he wasted by firing over the crossbar. The Dutch had started off the brighter though and were the side more willing to attempt to go forward.
Their patient play worked though as they took the lead on 18 minutes, with the unlikely veteran left-back and captain of the side, Giovanni van Bronckhorst slamming home a shot from 35-yards out into the corner. It was a strike that really came out of nowhere. He was able to assess his options, create some space and then absolutely lash it home. No one from Uruguay closed him down and the Dutch were 1-0 up. It was a spectacular effort, that the keeper couldn't do much about. It was kind of difficult to see where Uruguay might get their goals from. Forlan was not really in the game and he was far too upfield, when normally he'd playing a bit deeper, in behind Suarez. It was clear that they were missing him, as he cheered on from the stands. However, thanks to a shaky moment from the Dutch keeper, Stekelenburg Uruguay got themselves level.
Forlan had possession of the ball in midfield, and again, similarly to GvB had time and space to pick out his shot, without any of the Dutch players attempting to close him down. Stekelenburg was well placed to make the save and even got one hand to it but could not force it out and saw it land at the back of his net. It was a bit of a shock for the Dutch, who before the goal, had not really produced anything that would have doubled their lead. Uruguay were back in the game and the scores were level once again as we entered half-time.
Stekelenburg also started off the second-half a bit shakily too, when he misjudged Cavani's attempt to shoot. Had Cavani been a little braver he would have been able to chip the keeper, instead he chose to pass to Pereira who saw his goalbound effort cleared by the tireless GvB, who seemed to be everywhere on the pitch. However, Stekelenburg managed to regain his composure and made a good save from a free-kick taken by who else, but Forlan. Van Marwijk had made a positive substitution by bringing on van der Vaart for the ineffective De Zeeuw and he had a good shot on target which was cleared by Muslera. Robben could have made it 2 with the rebound, but didn't realise that he had more time than he first thought and blasted it over.
There wasn't much happening from both sides until the Dutch eventually got their second in the 70th minute. Both sides were playing like they did when the game commenced - they lacked bite and the Dutch, in particular were pretty slow at counter-attacking. There was a lot of possession being lost in midfield and it was hard to tell where the game would take us next. Where it took us was another great goal from Wesley Sneijder. He latched on to the ball out on the left hand side, after some good build-up play and went for the goal from distance. There was a question about the positioning of Robin van Persie, who appeared to be just offside. At first it had looked like it had got a touch off him but replays showed that the ball deflected off Maxi Pereira before rolling into the net. The deflection clearly confused the keeper, who had been decent until then.
Within 3 minutes, it looked like the Dutch had won the game and would definitely be heading for Sunday's showdown at Soccer City stadium in Jo'burg to face the victor's of tonight's game. Dirk Kuyt again crossed in from the left and found Robben, who rose clear of Godin to head home the third goal of the night. It was a straightforward goal and a firm header with the keeper rooted to the spot. It looked as though the Dutch were out of sight, as they tried to see the rest of the game out, by keeping possession of the ball, passing and making their opponents work really hard to have any chance of mounting a comeback. Uruguay were looking tired and Robben nearly made it 4 for the Oranje Army, but miscued his attempt on goal.
But the game wasn't over as Uruguay somehow got themselves a goal back in the second minute of injury time. Diego Forlan had been taken off by this time but it was from a free-kick that they got the ball. Maxi Pereira made amends for his earlier deflection, by running onto the ball from the free-kick, skipping past Elia, and firing into the net. The Dutch were furious with themselves for getting so complacent and careless and the last few minutes resulted in a scurry of activity in the Dutch penalty area. However, they were able to resist the pressure, with all men back in the box helping to defend and were relieved to hear the referee's whistle blow for full-time.
Uruguay have had a fantastic run up to this point in the competition. They were total outsiders, to even reach the semis, but they have proven their critics wrong and advanced further than their fellow South Americans. At the end of the day, they weren't able to do enough to break down this Dutch side, that have been unbeaten for 25 matches now. Brazil couldn't do it, and now Uruguay couldn't either, although they came mighty close. Who knows, perhaps if Suarez had been on the pitch, things might have been a bit different after all. Forlan has had a brilliant season and now a brilliant tournament too. They will now go on and play the losers of tonight's game in the 3rd/4th play-off on Saturday evening in Port Elizabeth at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium.
As for the Dutch...well they do it once again. They make it count when it matters most. They might not have had the best performance, or matched the style of the teams of '74 and '78 but they have got themselves to the final on the back of this massively impressive unbeaten run. The question is: will it last? Have they got enough to beat either Spain or Germany in the final and win the World Cup for the first time in their history or will they fall short (once again) at the final hurdle? Well, I guess the answer to that lies with the footballing gods and we must wait and see, but know this: they certainly have a chance. They wouldn't be in the final, if they didn't. They have a few defensive frailties, particularly with the young keeper and need to find a way of getting Robben involved in the game a bit more. They also need to be less complacent and try and kill the game off - finish of the chances they get - Germany are very good at doing this. They also need to make sure their key players are fit and well enough come Sunday and that they make the best use of the extra 24 hours they get. Whether that will be enough to take them to victory in the final, will be revealed later, but they sure as hell will go for it. They will no doubt know the history of previous 'total' Dutch sides, they will know that they are a different Dutch team to those of years gone by but they will also know that this is their best chance in a long, long time to put those World Cup demons to rest.
I think, should they come up against Spain in the final, it will suit the Dutch better and they will have a better chance at beating them, than Germany. Having said that a Germany-Holland final will make for good viewing because of the great footballing animosity and rivalry between these 2 sides. It's anybody's game at the end of the day, and we shall be seeing who will join the Oranje Army in the final, tonight, when we see a repeat of the Euro 2008 final. The question is, will the final result be a repeat of the result we saw 2 years ago, as Paul the psychic octopus appears to think it will be? Only time will tell...except I can't wait!!
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