FIFA 2010 World Cup: Player Performance for Spain in Final
It was a dogged performance by the Spanish national side as they held their nerves in a bruising encounter at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesberg to win the World Cup for the first time in their history. The Netherlands employed spoiling tactics in the game but the Spanish stuck to their principles of quick passing, fast paced, high tempo football, and, emerged victorious.
Here are the player ratings for the Spaniards from the final:
Iker Casillas 8
In the pre-match interview Casillas admitted that he was nervous going into the biggest match of his career but his performance on the pitch did not portray that. He was a rock at the back and successfully repelled every Dutch attack and in the process kept his 4th consecutive clean sheet of the tournament. He will always remember the two saves he made late in the second half against Arjen Robben that kept his side in the game.
Sergio Ramos 7
He was entangled in an intriguing battle with Dirk Kuyt on the right flank and got the better of the Dutchman on at least on one occasion, when he got clear and shot at goal early in the first half but his effort was blocked by Johnny Heitinga. Ramos was also guilty of wasting another golden opportunity when he headed wide from a Xavi-corner in the second half.
Gerard Pique 7
He was not at his best throughout the tournament and he looked uncomfortable again against Robben. Apart from coming against Robben, Pique was solid in the game in tandem with Puyol both the central defenders were caught out of position in the middle of the second half when a sublime through ball by Sneijder sent Robben through on goal only for the winger to fluff the chance.
Carles Puyol 7
His lack of pace was brutally exposed by Robben’s lightening runs and perhaps the defender was lucky that Robben decided to stay on his feet or else he would seen a straight red when in the 73rd minute. But that was the only blemish on an otherwise impressive game where he had Robin Van Persie in his pocket all the time.
Joan Capdevila 6
He struggled to keep Robben in check on the flank and did not have a great game although he was lucky at times when he failed to clear his lines. His forward ventures in the game were very restricted as he was up against a rampaging Robben and he hardly ever contributed in any of his team’s attacks.
Xabi Alonso 6
Alonso was knocked out flat on the pitch after he suffered a karate kick by De Jong in the first half that had a red card written all over it but De Jong was lucky to have escaped the punishment. Although he recovered to make some probing passes early on in the game, his telling influence was missing in the game given the physical nature of the game. He tried one or two shots from long range late in the 2nd half but it was not to be his day. He was eventually substituted by Fabregas in the 87th minute
Xavi 8
The midfield maestro’s master class was disrupted by the physical approach of the Dutch and he was far from his best but even when Spain were short of ideas he seemed to be the driving force and was the centre of everything that Spain did good in the attacking third. Spain had 13 shots on goal in the normal time and 9 of those were at the end of the moves started by this man.
Sergio Busquets 8
Given the Dutch’s spoiling tactics he kept the Spanish midfield ticking and it was because of his telling presence in the midfield that Spain was able to dominate in the middle of the park. He went about his game in virtual incognito. He was the link between the attack and the defence and hardly disappointed.
Andres Iniesta 9 (man of the match)
Although the midfielder made a quiet start to the game he eventually made his mark on the game scoring the winner. He constantly created space moving freely and switching positions with the other forwards in the attacking third and got his reward when Rafeal Van Der Vaart played him onside and his goal bound shot had too much power for Steklenberg to keep out.
Pedro 7
He was the liveliest player on the pitch early on and was not afraid to take matters into his own hands. The physical nature of the game more often than not left him alone at the top but he used his pace and mazy runs to at least manage a shot on target every time. He was eventually substituted in the 60th minute by Jesus Navas as Spain needed a creative spark on the wings rather than a frustrated striker.
David Villa 6
He was not the same player as he had been in the tournament. He started in a central role but switched to the left wing later on where he was very ineffective. He had a chance to seal the golden boot award but failed to get on the score sheet and was later substituted by Torres at the end of the first period of extra time.
Subs
Jesus Navas 7
He came on for Pedro just after the hour mark and helped Spain dominate the game. He was very creative on the wings playing one or two deadly crosses late in the game but his fellow strikers disappointed and could not provide the finishing touches. His fresh legs and pace changed the tempo of the game in favour of the Spaniards.
Cesc Fabregas 8
He had a huge say in deciding the match as he was the man that played the killer pass from the edge of the box that lead to the goal. Despite his late introduction into the game he continued to prompt Spain’s attacks, continually linking with the strikers up front and giving the Dutch defense a problem or two. Fabregas was however guilty of not finishing a gilt edged chance in the dying stages of the match when he had only the keeper to beat and also had Torres waiting for the pass but the midfielder decided to go for glory and failed miserably.
Tags: