le finale

Lets hope it will be as entertaining as the third place game.

Deyan - Netherlands vs Spain is the dream final for soccer purists out there. Both teams play the game the way it is supposed to be played, with skill, timing, and precision. Even though both squads like to play with possession, Spain is arguably the best team ever at controlling the ball and pace of the game and will dominate possession in this one. The Netherlands are capable of playing with a defensive shell and use their speed and technique to score on the counter. Even though Spain is better in every position on the field and are heavy favorites entering this match, I chose Netherlands over Spain before the tournament started and I will not change this prediction now that my predicted final is finally here. The only advantage the Dutch have is rest, with their whole squad having one more off day then Spain to rest their legs, and two starters, De Jong and Van Der Viel, going into this match with a full week of rest. This will benefit the Dutch in the later stages of the match and potentially maybe even in extra time. Van Persie finally needs to step up to the level he is capable of playing and put the ball in the back of the net. I believe that will finally happen. While Spain is a much better squad (arguably the best of all time) and this match has 1-1 written all over it, I will stick with my original prediction from a month ago, Netherlands win the title over Spain 2-0.

Sam- Hold the phone! Honestly, I've been more impressed with the dutch in the build up to these finals than in the games in this actual tournament. It will be interesting to see how well they adapt to chasing the ball for the first 60 minutes, and whether they can stay disciplined. It seems like everyone is supporting the dutch for whatever reason. I'm not talking about pundits, I'm talking about tourists, and Europeans, and people that don't know anything about football everywhere. Everywhere you look theres some orange balloons floating around. My dutch friend told me that of the 16million of their population, they had 12million tune in to the semi-final. This kind of hysteria is something that we don't see in any other event in the world, apart from a world war.

Anyhu, there's nothing stopping Spain from sticking to their passing guns and persevering for one more game. Again, whoever scores the first goal is likely to win, because Spain will have to open up if they concede. Holland will have to get a little luck and take their chances. But Spain are even money right now to win in regulation and 1:2 to lift the trophy, that feels like a pretty good bet. Spain 1-0.