The Dutch are probably the team that showed the world that you cannot win a World Cup on defence. They also showed that you cannot win it on offence alone either. But this time, you can almost feel like it is their time. Not a single defeat in the entire campaign (including the qualifiers) tells you something about this particular bunch of players.

They are mentally strong, focused on the job at hand and committed. They have not played their attractive football, but their style has been effective nonetheless. With Robben getting back his groove, and Sneijder shining on… they might settle the ‘choking’ debate once and for all.

WHY NETHERLANDS ARE IN THE FINAL:

Their intent and poise was to be seen to be believed as they won all eight games in their qualification group, scoring 17 goals and conceding just two. The message was loud, clear and warning-like. ‘Watch out for a wave of Oranje in South Africa’. Everyone knew that the side had the talent, but what people probably doubted was whether they had the mental strength to hold on long enough?

In South Africa, they started from where they had left off in the qualifiers. The first game against Denmark was supposed to be the toughest in the group but they ran out 2-0 winners. Then they beat Japan, Cameroon and Slovakia to set up a quarterfinal clash with five-times world champion Brazil. The result, a 2-1 win for the Dutch, was the last piece of the puzzle. This team would be one the finalists, and they confirmed their ticket for July 11 with a 3-2 win over South American side Uruguay.

The Dutch play very different football from the Spaniards, and also from their own under-achieving predecessors. That the focal point has been Sneijder is known, also with Robben cutting in through the right to set up volleys from the edge of the 16-yard box, they play a direct game.

Not too much time wasted in trying to walk the ball into the net. See an opening, shoot. Lucky…you score, not so much, might get a deflection and it will fall for Sneijder and he will, somehow, score! They, in fact, have taken most shots from outside the box at this year’s finals. Can more of the same work in the final too? Not a long wait this one!

There are many ways of describing the beautiful game of football. You can write poetry, sing anthems, describe goals from start to finish… but the most appealing way, by a long distance, is to watch Spain play. Need proof? Ask any of the German players on the field at the semifinal in Durban.

The small triangles, the perfectly weighed passes, and the perfect through balls…add to that the amazing possession-oriented game they play. It is a treat to watch as they pass, and pass and pass till the opposition are opened up in mid-field and defence.

They played their best match at the finals against Germany, and they will be surely hoping that they can recreate the magic again as they take on Netherlands in the final…they will need it in equal measure there.

WHY SPAIN ARE IN THE FINAL:

Well, going strictly by what history tells us, no team that lost its opening game at the World Cup has gone on to lift the trophy. But then this Spanish side is different. They don’t flow with history, they pass it around like a football, and then slot it home according to their own preferences.

They lost the opening game to Switzerland, and found themselves immediately on the backfoot. But then, they beat Honduras 2-0 and Chile 2-1 to book a Round of 16 berth. After getting past Portugal first and then Paraguay, in the Round of 16 and quarterfinal, respectively, they set up a semifinal clash with Germany. The Germans, having annihilated Australia, England and tournament favourites Argentina, were out and out favourites. But what followed was 90 minutes of a footballing lesson.

Spain toyed with them, passed with panache and dictated the game from the word go. It is another matter that the Puyol goal had more to do with a German defensive lapse, than anything else.

On the left wing, with David Villa, Xabi Alonso and Capdevila, they have the potential to hit teams with wave after wave of attacks. Any concentration on that side, and a through ball to the right with Xavi, Iniesta and the surprise package, an attacking Sergio Ramos, available to follow up. The biggest thing is that the bench has names like Fabregas, David Silva, Marchena and as on Wednesday, Fernando Torres. Talk about abundance….this is more like a case of ridiculous riches. With Europe dominating the last four, the European champions are deserving finalists. 

Durban, July 8
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque says his players were "magnificent" in the semifinal win over Germany, but urged them to not lose their focus ahead of Sunday's World Cup final against the Netherlands. "Our players carried out their job in a magnificent way," Del Bosque said after 1-0 win clinched a first ever appearance in a World Cup final for Spain. "Let's now think what we have pending before us." A second-half header from Carles Puyol secured victory, but the Spanish were dominant. For large parts of the second half, Germany was pinned back and unable to even cross the halfway line.

The intricate passing of Barcelona duo Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta in midfield and the vision of Xabi Alonso, who became more influential as the game progressed, proved too much for Joachim Loew's side who never reached the heights of the classy wins over England and Argentina in earlier rounds.

Miroslav Klose, needing just one goal to become the all-time joint highest goalscorer at World Cups, was peripheral. And Lukas Podolski, another attacking threat, was isolated on the left, closed down repeatedly by the Spanish midfield. Del Bosque hailed his players for not letting the Germans excel.

"We can say that Germany wasn't as good as we'd expected, but that's thanks to the excellent work of our team," he said. "We were better than them in the overall count and we played the way we like to play." Del Bosque said ball possession is key for his side.

"Today we weren't pressured as much as we were against Paraguay and Chile," he said, referring to hard-fought victories earlier in the competition. "I think that if we're comfortable with the ball, we don't suffer," he said. "Those other teams made us suffer a lot, closing us down, pressing and not letting us play." Neither Spain nor the Netherlands have won a World Cup, but both sides play fluent and imaginative, attacking football, setting up what could be a memorable final. — AP

Durban, July 8
Spain needed a 73rd minute goal from defender Carles Puyol to edge past Germany 1-0 on Wednesday and set up a World Cup final against Netherlands. Puyol climbed above the defence to head the winner from a Xavi corner and send Spain to their first World Cup final. The Spaniards dominated most of the match but struggled to finish off a German side that was lacking their usual pace.

European champions Spain dominated possession early on and needed only five minutes to carve out their first chance against a nervous German defence. Spain forward Pedro, who started ahead of the misfiring Fernando Torres, played the ball for David Villa, who caught Arne Friedrich napping but could not beat keeper Manuel Neuer.

With the Germans, who lost the Euro 2008 final to the Spaniards by the same score, boxed into their own half, Spain kept up the pressure, with Puyol heading an Andres Iniesta cross from the right narrowly over the bar after 15 minutes. Germany’s Piotr Trochowski, who replaced the suspended Thomas Mueller on the right, stretched Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas with a well-struck low drive.

Pedro and Sergio Ramos continued to single out Germany left back Jerome Boateng as a weakness, cutting the ball back from the wing for midfielder Xabi Alonso. Spain will face Netherlands at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Sunday. The Dutch have been in the final twice before but have never won it so a new world champion is guaranteed. — Reuters

Paul the Octopus or Paul Oktopus (hatched 2008) is a common octopus used as an oracle to "predict" the results of major German international football matches. Paul is reported to have correctly chosen the winning team in five of Germany's six UEFA Euro 2008 matches and in each of Germany's six matches in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Before German international football matches, Paul is presented with food in two identical containers; one container is marked with the flag of Germany and the other is marked with the flag of Germany's opponent in the upcoming match. In each instance, Paul's choice of food box is interpreted as his prediction as to which will be the victorious team.

Paul hatched from an egg in an aquarium at Sea Life Weymouth in Weymouth, England but currently resides in an aquarium at the Sea Life Oberhausen in Oberhausen, Germany. The name "Paul" is taken from the title of a poem by the German children's writer Boy Lornsen: Der Tintenfisch Paul Oktopus.

The first time Paul was tried out for predicting soccer match outcomes was during UEFA Euro 2008. Paul was correct in around 83% of the "predictions" he made, but he was wrong in his prediction of the winner of the final match, which was Germany versus Spain. Paul has been able to "predict" the winners of all six matches that the German team has played so far in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Mumbai, July 8
Newly-appointed ICC President Sharad Pawar said immediate resumption of cricket ties between India and Pakistan was not possible.

"Immediate ties between both countries is not possible. It is not in the hands of the cricket boards...It is a diplomatic issue. This is a decision to be taken by the Indian government," Pawar said here yesterday.

Asked about demands for the introduction of day-night Tests to save the longer format of the game, Pawar said the "issue has not reached his ear".

"We are only administrators. If needed, I will let the experts take a call (on the issue)," he said.

To a query whether the ICC was mulling to shift its headquarters back to England, Pawar said, "In England, there are 40 per cent taxes while there are no taxes in Dubai. The moment England thinks similarly about cricket, we will consider it."

Pawar said he was confident about BCCI President Shashank Manohar's integrity to handle the controversial Lalit Modi issue. — PTI

Karachi, July 8
There is never a dull moment in Pakistan cricket and the Board has now decided to fire selector Salim Jaffer for allegedly conspiring against chief selector Mohsin Khan.

According to reports, the selection affairs came up for discussion at yesterday's Governing Council meeting in Lahore where PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt found fault with Jaffer.

"Butt told the members at the council meeting that it had been decided to remove Salim Jaffer from the national selection committee as he had tried to conspire against Mohsin Khan after the squad was announced for the England tour," one source said.

Mohsin had flown down to Sri Lanka last month where he held a meeting with the national captain, coach and manager and announced the squads for the Twenty20 and Tests that Pakistan will play in England against Australia and England.

The squad had some surprising exclusions including former captain Younis Khan, senior batsman Faisal Iqbal, opener Khurrum Manzoor, wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed and fast bowler Mohammad Sami.

Later it emerged that the selectors were not happy with their chief, Mohsin Khan for not consulting with them while announcing the squad for the England tour.

It transpired that Jaffer, who has been a member of the selection committee since 2007, held a meeting with governing council member Wazir Ali Khoja and conveyed the dissatisfaction of the selectors with Mohsin’s attitude.

They were also reports that the selectors wanted to meet Butt to convey their grievances but the PCB Chairman declined to meet them. — PTI

New Delhi, July 8
Badminton world number three Saina Nehwal has urged India's other female athletes to make the sacrifices necessary to break into the country's male-dominated sports community.

The 20-year-old from Hyderabad, who picked up her second successive Indonesia Open Super Series title last month, told Reuters that Indian women had to toughen up to compete at the highest level.

"It is indeed very difficult for women in this country to excel because of many archetypal conservative attitudes and other societal obstacles," said Nehwal, who became the first Indian woman to reach the Olympic quarterfinals in Beijing in 2008.

"Which is why we have more women from countries like China, Japan and Korea. Also I think women in India need to be mentally and physically stronger to compete in international sports.

"Of course, one needs to have conviction, zeal and strong resolve to train and learn. And one has to be watchful of a healthy diet and fitness regime, which means absolutely no fast food and more salads and proteins."

Nehwal put her success down to the financial sacrifices made by her parents and her own dedication to a rigorous training regime that left her exhausted and out of pocket.

"I would often sleep on the pillion of my father's scooter," she said. "And during the course, I lost many racquets, some even as costly as Rs 10,000. On one occasion, my father went on to lodge a police complaint against the loss."

Nehwal said she wanted to build on her success and capture more titles before the end of the year.

"I want to take this winning streak forward to a world championship title, the Commonwealth Games 2010 in India and later Asian Games 2010 in China." — Reuters

Newport, July 8
Indian Davis Cupper Somdev Devvarman slumped to his second successive defeat against Mardy Fish and crashed out of the singles event of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships here.

The unseeded Indian lost 2-6, 0-6 to the American fifth seed in the second round of the $442,500 grass court event.

Somdev had lost to Fish at Aegon Classic championships in London last month.

Somdev had his chances but Fish was too good for the Indian as the American kept his cool to save as many as five breakpoints.

Fish, on the other side, broke Somdev twice in the opening set and just trampled him in the second set, not letting the Indian to even get on the board.

The defeat means that Somdev, who is now ranked 107, will have to wait a bit more to break into top-100.

He earned 20 ranking points and $7,260 for reaching the second round. — PTI

Jammu, July 8
Working committee members of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association have alleged that the affairs of the association are being manipulated by a few hands. The association has urged its president Dr Farooq Abdullah to take note of the situation.

In a press note, the committee members said that contrary to rules, the financial control of the association was not in their hands.

“The association has never seen the audit of its funds till date,” they said and alleged financial bungling in the accounts.

They also expressed concern over the shifting the office of the J&K Cricket Association from Rehari. The committee said that the decision was taken without taking committee members into confidence. The members alleged that the association under the chairmanship of Aslam Goni was functioning against the norms.

The members claimed that despite completion of their tenure, office-bearers like secretary Salim Khan and treasurer Ahsan Mirza are still in office as they allegedly enjoy political clout.

“Aslam Goni, Salim Khan and Ahsan Mirza have been treating the association as their private property,” they said.

BRIEFLY

Vuvuzelas banned in New Zealand
Wellington: New Zealand stadium authorities have moved swiftly to ensure the vuvuzelas providing an ear-splitting backdrop to the soccer World Cup in South Africa are unlikely to be heard at next year's rugby equivalent. The long plastic horns, likened to the sound of a swarm of angry bees, have already been banned from this weekend's Tri-Nations opener between the All Blacks and South Africa in Auckland and other stadiums are set to follow suit. — Reuters

Four-game touchline ban for Antic
Belgrade: Serbia coach Radomir Antic has been given a four-game touchline ban for dissent after their World Cup match with Australia last month, the Serbian Football Association (FSS) website said on Wednesday. — Reuters

Shakira to close World Cup
London: Colombian singer Shakira will close the 2010 soccer World Cup by performing the official anthem "Waka Waka - This Time For Africa". She kicked off the tournament last month singing the track with local group FreshlyGround. She will close the event in similar way.

However, organisers promised that Sunday night's celebrations will be a spectacle to watch. "It will be more youthful and a bit more technologically advanced with nice lighting effects and special effects," starpulse.com quoted Jermaine Craig, spokesman for the South African organising committee, as saying. — IANS