By Aldwyn McGill

The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is about to enter the history books, as Netherlands and Spain clash in the final at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday 11, 2010. It will be the first time for Spain as the records book editors have been kept busy in South Africa.

Netherlands was the first to book its passage into the final after their 3-2 victory over Uruguay at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, while Spain won the chess match over Germany coach Joachim Loew in what was suppose to be a entertaining match.

But as it turned out Loew out-thought himself and came up with a defensive game plan for the most potent offense in the 2010 World Cup. Needless to say the semi final was anti climatic as everyone was waiting to see Germany’s high flying offense, in a tense match.

With several teams achieving milestones to add to their football history, it will also be the first time that the finalists of the previous World Cup (France and Italy) have not advanced past the group stage and hence put the title up for grabs.

But beware of the Dutch, since they too are looking to dance with the stars after having to work hard for every one of their victories which includes the 2010 FIFA showpiece to keep its 24-match unbeaten record after beating Uruguay.

In their semi final match against Uruguay last Monday, the Dutch took the lead in the 18^th minute from Van Brockhorst’s left footed bullet, but saw Uruguay’s answer when their captain and inspirational leader Diego Forlan equalized 4 minutes before the half.

Forlan drifted towards center and from about 25 yards out, unleashed a left footed rocket of a shot to beat an outstretched Muslera off the inside of the last post to tie the game 1-1. The goal was the result of a defensive miscue when the defenders anticipated a pass instead of a shot.

But as unimpressed as one might be with the Dutch, you have to give them credit for maintaining their positional shape in all their matches, since no team has ruffled their feathers enough to take them out of their game, as they did to Brazil in their 2-1 win.

Of note Brazil coach Dunga and his staff have been relieved of their duties while Mexico’s coach Aguirre has resigned. But for Dutch coach Bert Van Marwijki, it is also nice to have the likes of Robin van Persie’s, Robben, and Sneijder in ones lineup.

They are supplying the fire power that has given Netherlands the important goals at critical times. Dutch fans may argue that Van Persie has not kicked in as yet and may be due for a break-out performance any time now.

But his teammate Sneijder has no complaints, since he is tied for the Golden Boot award after scoring his fifth goal of the tournament. Sneijder’s fifth and Netherlands second go ahead goal, was on his 20-yard shot which was deflected to hand cuffed Muslera.

Uruguay was the last of the five South American teams at the 2010 World Cup as only a week ago, the W-Cup final seemed to be in South American hands, while now it’s an all-European affair.

One of my disappointments of the 2010 World Cup was the bizarre demise of Ghana in the quarter finals of the 2010 World Cup. As the last African team and the sentimental choice of the tournament, Ghana lost from a deliberate handball-save by a Uruguay player.

The incident occurred in the final seconds of overtime in their quarter final match, when a ball entering the net was parried off the goal line and eventually secured the win for Uruguay. The game was tied 1-1 and Ghana lost 4-2 on penalty kicks after missing the awarded penalty kick.

This is yet another rule that has to be modified by the FIFA tournament rules committee to ensure that Fair Play is a reality and not just a slogan. This violation is in addition to the missed goal line calls that have negated the true spirit of the game, to which instant replay is inevitable!

Spain as the 2008 European champion was not the favorite by chance, and saved their best performance for the semi final against Germany. However, there are those who would say that Netherlands has yet to lose, while Spain has, and they are correct.

But the fact that several teams entered the Round of 16 undefeated makes Sunday’s World Cup final an historic moment since both teams will be going hard to win their first ever World Cup title. History in the making!