Final of the World Championship 2010

The Final of the World Championship 2010 It was a football match played on 11 July 2010 at the Soccer City in
Johannesburg, in South Africa. It determined the victory of Spain over the Netherlands at the World Championship of 2010 with the result of 1-0 obtained in extra time thanks to a goal by Andrés Iniesta, leading the Iberian national team to win for the first, and so far unique, once the world title. ^{[first] [2] [3]}

For Spain it was the first world final, while the Netherlands had played and lost two, in 1974 and 1978. The Netherlands did not lose a game since September 2008, while the Red furies The first match of the 2010 World Cup had lost 1-0 against Switzerland, and then win all the other matches of the competition.

Spain had arrived at the 2010 World Championships as a reigning European champion (as winner of the 2008 European Championships) and was counted among the favorites; the Red furies Furthermore, they had won all the 10 qualifying matches of their group.

The Netherlands had instead arrived at the tournament after winning all eight games in their qualifying group and with an unbeaten strip that had lasted for two years.

Once in the final phase of the event, the Dutch have reached the direct elimination phase as the winners of the group and, with three out of three wins, against Denmark, Japan and Cameroon, giving only one goal and proving to be a very solid team. Then they beat the debutants of Slovakia in the roundabouts, the five-time world champions of Brazil in the quarterfinals thanks to a brace by Wesley Sneijder and in the semifinal the two-time Uruguay champions for 3-2 with Van Bronckhorst’s goals, still Sneijder And Robben. The Netherlands reached the final with a strip of 25 unbeaten match and with a path of only victories.

Spain instead won the first place of group H with two wins and a defeat. In the first race the Red furies They were 1-0 defeats from Switzerland, and then win against Honduras and Chile and ranked first thanks to the networks difference. In the direct elimination phase, the debutants in the quarterfinals of the Paraguay and the three times winners of the World Cup in Germany beaten in the Iberian derby, in a re -edition of the 2008 European Championships, always winning with the result of 1 -0.

In the six games played, the Netherlands have scored a total of twelve goals and have conceded five, while Spain scored seven and granted two. In the final, for the two teams, the two major leaders are Wesley Sneijder for the Netherlands and David Villa for Spain, who have both scored five goals.

Summary table of the route [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Notes: in every result below, the finalist score is mentioned first.

Closing ceremony [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The Colombian artist Shakira performed with his Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) , official anthem of the World Cup ^[4] .

The show continued with play of light, images of balls and Africa and musical backgrounds of all kinds, especially African music. ^[4] At 7.15 pm the former South African president Nelson Mandela arrived, transported by car to the center of the field. ^[4]

Official ball [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The official ball for the World Cup final, which was revealed on April 20, 2010, is called Segment , a version with golden decorations of the Adidas ball Rejoice used officially for the other tournament matches. ^{[5] [6]} The name of the ball is the reference to Jo’burg , a common nickname for Johannesburg, who has always been defined as the city of gold. ^[6] The Segment It is the second ball produced specifically for the World Cup final after the Team spirit Berlin Used in the final match of Germany 2006. ^[6]

For the first time since 1998 there was a debutant in the final (Spain), and for the first time since 1978 two finalists never previously champions (the Netherlands were finalists defeated in Germany in 1974 and Argentina in 1978).

Before the World Cup final, the Dutch captain Giovanni Van Bronckhorst declares that that will be his last game as a footballer, thus announcing his retreat. ^[7]

The game starts at 20.30; As a referee, the English Howard Webb had been selected, with the assistants Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey. ^[8] At the stadium there are 84 490 spectators. The challenge is very heated and lively, but above all very hard and phalloous, to the point that Webb is as many as 5 admonitions in just half an hour, 3 for the Dutch and 2 for the Spaniards. The trend is therefore very slow and chopped, but there is no shortage of opportunities on both sides, such as those of the Spanish brand of Sergio Ramos and David Villa and above all the two shots on the Aulandse Porta Arjen Robben, both wallpaper from the goalkeeper and Captain Iberico Iker Casillas. During the race, the Dutch Nigel de Jong enters the opposing midfielder Xabi Alonso in a bloody way, hitting him with a kick in the chest, and the referee sanctions him with a warning; Webb subsequently admitted that the player should have been expelled instead. ^[9]

After the regulatory times ended on the score of 0-0, the game continues to extra time and in the first 15 minutes to become dangerous is Spain, first with an incursion in the Dutch penalty area that leads to an intervention on Xavi Non judged by penalty, and later also with Cesc Fàbregas, whose shot is saved by Maarten Stekelenburg. A few minutes later Joris Mathijsen of the Netherlands puts high by hitting head a short distance from the door line.

The additional second half begins with the only expulsion of the game: the Dutch defender John Heitinta is removed by double warning. Then, four minutes from the end, the midfielder Andrés Iniesta finds himself only in the area and his shot beats Stekelenburg, bringing Spain ahead. Iniesta, after the victory goal, takes off the shirt, under which a tank top wears with the writing ” Dani Jarque always with us” (“Dani Jarque always with us”), in homage to Daniel Jarque, a Spanish footballer who disappeared almost a year earlier, getting a yellow card for this (the football game regulations prescribes that you can never take off the shirt per game in the game in course). ^{[first] [2] [3]}

Spain had not beat the Netherlands since 1983, when she defeated it in Seville, even then 1-0, in a qualifying match at the 1984 European Championships; For the first time, a European football national team won a football world championship outside the borders of the old continent. ^{[first] [2] [3]}

The two finalist national teams closed 2010 at the top of the FIFA world ranking, Spain in first place, the Netherlands per second.

Johannesburg 11 July 2010, 20:30 UTC+2	Netherlands	0 – 1 (d.t.s.) report	Spain	FNB Stadium  (84 490 Spit.)

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Total [ten] [11]	Netherlands	Spain
Ball possession	43%	57%
Actual game	36 min.	48 min.
Total shots	13	18
Shots on goal	5	6
corner kiks	6	8
Fales committed	28	19
Yellow cards	8	5
Red cards	first	0
Offside	7	6

• The record of assigned cards was established in this final: Webb has in fact exhibited the yellow card (at 13 different players) 14 times and for once the red card, to John Heitinta. ^{[twelfth] [13]}