After all the hype about the South American teams impressing at the World Cup, it comes down to two European sides to battle it out in the 2010 World Cup Final.
The
Netherlands looked impressive in beating a lacklustre Uruguay in their semi-final, the 3-2 scoreline making the game seem a lot tighter than it actually was.
As for
Spain, despite all their intricate play and crisp passing, it took a bullet header from a set-piece by 'the perm haired old rocker' Carlos Puyol to book their place in Sunday's final.
It was a narrow win over a well-drilled German side, and perhaps the most surprising statistic was that Spain striker David Villa did
not get on the score sheet.
Now, the Dutch are 11/4 outsiders in the
World Cup Final betting with
Betfred, while their Iberian opponents are favourites at 11/10.
In the final it will be a battle for the
Golden Boot as Villa and Wesley Sneijder are both level on five goals apiece - with Villa priced at 4/5 to finish the tournament as top goal scorer compared to 9/4 for Sneijder.
While
Holland look reliant on Sneijder and Arjen Robben to provide the pace, skill and the goals, it is clear the likes of Mark van Bommel, John Heitinga and Dirk Kuyt are the Dutch work horses and ball winners.
Spain showed against Germany how effective their midfield is. Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Alonso all look comfortable knocking the ball around, and the entire side seem able to play a sharp and direct passing game. With Villa up front they also look to have the best striker in the entire competition, and the
betting odds suggest he is likely to find the net again.
Last night, Pedro impressed when coming off the bench, and he can offer a lot to the side if he is called upon in the final. However, despite a relatively poor tournament thus far it would be foolish for any football fan to write off the dangers of Fernando Torres, who is 6/1 to score first in the final.
Whatever happens, a new name will be on the trophy after the two great underachievers of world football collide in what should be an open game between two teams who both play attractive, free-flowing and attacking football.
My Tip Of The Weekend:
Both sides look impressive going forward, so 6/4 for there to be more than 2.5 goals in the final looks like good value.World Cup Final 2010: The Netherlands v Spain - Sunday 11th July, kick-off 7.30pm GMT
By Drew Swainston
(Guest writer from Betfred on behalf of Beer Footy and Birds!)
Ferguson seems to desire to bring Sneijder should disappear after the latest news sneijder issued by the agency, which says that the desire Sneijder who want to extend his contract with Inter with a net salary per season at 3.5 million pounds or approximately USD 48 billion . Sneijder is suspected to be tied to Inter in June 2015.
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