To no dissapointment of drama, the South African World Cup has certainly recieved it's fair share of "oohs" and "boos". Whether it be the swift action of FIFA to remove stadium replays after Teves's offsides goal created a mob of players around the refrees, or rekindled debates of goal line technology from Lampard's shot, there surely won't be lack of discussion untill the next Cup. The Final could yet yield another twist to millions of fans all over the earth, but respectivly any outcome could be a surprise.
So, who wins?
First we have to look at players who have individually impacted thier team and probable match-ups :
Wesley Sneijder VS. David Villa
David Villa is steadly gaining recognition as a striker with his most recent decision to make the move to Barcelona. While he was perhaps going relativly unnoticed with Valencia as the 3rd highest scorer in La Liga, Villa exploded into the international scene in Euro 2008. Villa was awarded the Golden Boot even after sustaining an injury which prevented his participation in the Final. After consecutive performances in the Conferation Cup, Villa became a dangerous target, and clearly a prospect for large teams. The World Cup has seen David Villa become the go-to man with Torres clearly not in top form. The Dutch will put emphasis on defending him as he will probably be set up with very little creative space, and most likely will double team him.
The Dutch have the diversity of a midfielder who has shown maturity in more competitions than just internation. Wesley Sneijder is fresh off of a Champions League win with his club Inter from Series A. Wesley Sneijder has become the Dutch utility man as he has proved he has the versitality to score in several different situations. Not only has Sneijder been scoring from the box but also a powerful free-kick taker. The Dutch have also more than proved they can take shots from outside, Spain will be looking to have high pressure defence.
Spain will control most of the passing game as they have much more chemistry, due to most of players involvement with La Liga. Iniesta, Puyol, Pedro, Pique, Xavi, Busquets, all reside with the same club, Barcelona. This experience will lead Spain to win over the Dutch.
My pick: Spain 2-1 Netherlands
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