FIFA World Cup 2010 Final Report: Netherlands vs. Spain - Match Facts
Spain are all set to take on the Netherlands in the final game of the World Cup, to decide who will emerge victorious and take home the trophy and the title of being World Champion. Here are a few key facts for that game.
Spain and Netherlands have played against each other nine times in the past, both of these sides have won four matches and one of the matches ended as a draw.
Netherlands will be going into the final game after having a perfect campaign so far, they have had six back to back wins so far. If they do manage to win on Sunday it will be the fifth time in history that the trophy is lifted with a hundred percent record. The previous teams to do so were, Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1970 and 2002.
The Dutch however, also had a hundred percent record in the qualifying stages of the tournament and if they manage to win, they will be the second team in history to win all their qualifiers and finals matches. The only other team to do so was the legendary Brazilian team of the 1970 World Cup.
This will be Netherlands third appearance in a World Cup final, but it would be the first time that they aren’t facing the host nation in the final match. This will be the first time Spain have made it to the final game of the tournament.
The Dutch have just lost one game out of the last ten that they have played at the World Cup. They have however failed to record a clean sheet in their last four games. Their unbeaten run now stretches to twenty five successive games.
Wesley Sneijder has now scored the most goals ever by a Dutch player in a single World cup tournament. The Dutch have only won five of the twelve times they have faced European teams in the World Cup finals.
This is the seventh time in the World Cup’s History that there will be an all European final. After the match on Sunday a European team would have won the tournament for a record tenth time.
If Spain win the World Cup they will be the second team since Germany in 1974, to win the World Cup while going in as European Champions. This is the first time that the final game will be played without, Brazil, Argentina, Germany or Italy. Spain have managed to win forty two of the last forty four matches they have played.
Xavi has created twenty five chances for his teammates to score off of, that is eight more than any one else has done so far. David Villa has scored five of the last eight goals Spain have scored. All of Spain’s matches after the group games have ended in one nil wins for the Spanish.
Sergio Ramos has committed fifteen fouls without receiving a single booking. Xavi on the other hand has made a pass every fifty five seconds during the course of this tournament. The last seven goals scored by Spain have been by players who play for Barcelona where as the last eight goals that Netherlands have scored have been by players who left Real Madrid in the 2009 season.
Tags: