FULL TIME - Match #62 (SEMI - FINAL #2) -
SPAIN - 1
(Puyol 73')
GERMANY - 0
Many, MANY congratulations to Spain for making into their VERY FIRST FIFA WC Final in their footballing history!
It was their match from the beginning, when they bossed possession and made plenty of daring runs into the German half again and again. The Germans for their part looked solid in defense, but maybe that caused their downfall. TOO much concentration in defending, plus some poor midfield play which kept letting the Spanish players coming in.
Klose, Podolski and the rest never looked menacing at all - in fact Klose was seen only 2-3 times during the entire match. A big point in Spain's favor to keep the ball away from the more dangerous German players.
The first half was engrossing, and the second was loaded with desperate stuff. A fantastic extreme angle cross went inches away from David Villa's touch or it would have been the first goal right then and there.
Then came that superb header from Puyol who stood unmarked behind the German players and coolly sent the ball into the German net. 1 - 0 Spain.
As the final 15 minutes came in and Germany suddenly found themselves desperate for an equaliser, the breaks became tougher for them to handle. Villa had at least 2 break-runs but couldn't capitalise on either, and Pedro had a really FANTASTIC run through the break with Torres in full support and only the German GK to beat, but instead of passing to Torres which would have resulted in a sure-shot goal, decided to go for glory himself and fizzed the awesome chance at scoring.
As expected, Villa came off in the 81st minute and was replaced by Torres in the final minutes of the game. Germany kept plugging in as much as they could, but Spain held their nerves, defenses and the 11 Germans at bay to register their very first march into a FIFA World Cup Final in their footballing history.
It will be the NETHERLANDS taking on SPAIN in the Finals, folks. Before that we will see GERMANY take on URUGUAY for 3rd place. And judging by the way Germany played tonight, if they show the same form they might end up in 4th place. They certainly need to show their fantastic form of beating Argentina if they want to finish 3rd in what has been a great tournament for them.
Good night.