FIFA 2010 World Cup; The Netherlands Enjoy Special Win
The Netherlands are basking in the glory of a special win in the semi-finals of the World Cup that has propelled the national football stars to their third World Cup final, after two consecutive finals in 1974 and 1978 where they ended up on the runner-ups spot.
Local fans were delirious going berserk with their celebrations as a staggering 60,000 plus fans most of them clad in traditional Orange of the Dutch piled into the centre of the capital city of Amsterdam on Tuesday and were overjoyed as their team went past the South Americans who won two out of the first four World Cup events.
The Dutch scored a 3-2 win after taking the lead in the first half, once the match ended the public went overboard with their celebrations at Museumplein where the match was being beamed LIVE on a big screen.
After conceding the lead Uruguay replied through a goal from Diego Forlan who equalized just before the break.
Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder was the real inspiration for the team, scoring a goal in the 70th minute which sealed the South Americans fate and their misery was doubled when Arjen Robben got a third goal three minutes later.
For the Dutch fans the match was as exciting as a Hollywood thriller, and they had to hold onto their celebrations for a few minutes more as Uruguay's Maximiliano Pereira grabbed a second goal in injury time.
On the other hand despite their semi-final win the Dutch super stars have come for some scathing criticism from some sections of the media for their below par performance as they went through their games battling and many fear that they will crumble on the big occasion.
However the fans in Amsterdam can’t care less about their team’s passage into the big final and were ecstatic about their win which has come without fouls that have dogged the tournament and many frontline teams including their semi-final opponents.
The South Americans were dealt a body blow when star striker Suarez got disqualified after a handball save against Ghana, which ensured their place in the semi final.
"They started pretty slow but in the last two games they were amazing. We played bad football but we won every time. So that's great. That's what matters right?" said fan in Amsterdam.
"They deserve it after so many years. So it’s our turn. It’s our turn," added another overjoyed soccer fan.
"It was a great game absolutely fantastic. It was difficult for them especially in the second half but. In the end a bit of luck was very good".
Netherlands will hope to bury the disappointments of their two defeats in the finals in 1974 and 1978 with a win against their European finalists.
Meanwhile the Uruguayan coach Oscar Tabarez told a news conference after the match that he was elated with his team’s performance saying "I'm very proud of my players, our opponents were better when it came to scoring goals against us. We went very far; no one expected that, so that helps the sadness of the defeat".
Midfielder Egidio Arevalo was also pleased with his and his team’s performance which gave them a semi final berth for the first time since 1970, "We had a good World Cup. A lot of years have passed since we've done so well".
The last time the South Americans cruised through to the last four stages was the 1970 edition in Mexico.
The final will be Europe’s ten World Cup wins in 19 finals and first ever win by a European team outside their own continent.
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