Iniesta Nets Spain First Ever World Cup

Match Report

Late into extra time Andres Iniesta hit an excellent goal to give Spain their World Cup victory for the first time ever and send the Netherlands home. The Dutch were furious after the referee Howard Webb did not give them a corner a few moments earlier after a free kick was deflected by Cesc Fabregas.

Nonetheless, Spain were the deserving victors, they have only conceded two goal this tournament and slowly but surely took control of the game. The game was tense with a total of 14 yellow cards being issued and Johnny Heitinga was sent off after 109 minutes when he received his second yellow card.

The Dutch have now lost the final three times but they were hoping to be the first side since Brazil to go through the whole tournament unbeaten. They had a great chance to take the lead in the second half but Arjen Robben couldn’t find his way past Spain’s captain Iker Casillas.

Spain also had a great chance to score but Sergio Ramos headed over the bar, both Fabregas and Robben had good one on one chances to score but both of them missed as well.

In the end it was a through ball from Fabregas that Iniesta got his foot to which made Spain the first team to win the World Cup after losing their opening game. They have also won the World Cup with fewer goals than any other team; they only scored eight times across seven matches.

The opening 45 minutes of the game were almost boring, especially after the wonderful opening ceremony and the appearance of Nelson Mandela before the match. Spain were dominating possession of the ball in the opening minutes and seemed to have found their way around the Dutch. Ramos almost scored after only four minutes but his headed was saved in style by Maarten Stekelenburg.

The Netherlands didn’t seem to be able to get a grip on the game, but a large number of yellow cards from the referee Webb seemed to help them as it disturbed the rhythm of the game. Five players were booked within the first 28 minutes of the match, although he had little choice thanks to a number of bad challenges.

Mark van Bommel was booked after going through Iniesta and Nigel de Jong was very lucky not to have been given a red card after kicking Xavi Alonso in the chest.

Robben had a good shot at goal during stoppage time, but Casillas produced a good save to prevent his low left foot strike from going in. However, by this point the match had really fallen apart with Alonso choosing to shoot with a free kick from beyond 40 yards instead of looking for a team mate.

Soon after the restart Spain’s defender Joan Capdevila had a good chance, but didn’t manage to reach Carles Puyol’s ball.

The stream of bookings did not subside after the break and at times it seemed so tense that it felt as if the contest may boil over. However, this was balanced by moments of real quality, there was a great through ball from Wesley Sneijder which allowed Robben to head straight for the goal. However, Robben delayed his shot and Casillas smade an excellent save with his legs.

Another devastating moment for Spain occurred quickly after when Ramos headed a corner over the crossbar despite being unmarked.

As the match moved on Spain became more and more dominant and Xavi more influential. In the 87th minute Fabregas was brought on to replace Alonso and was soon contributing to the game. He collected an excellent pass from Iniesta but couldn’t find a way past Stekelenberg who made an excellent save.

Iniesta soon had the chance to strike from 18 yards but didn’t use the opportunity and in the end Gregory van der Wiel managed to see him off.

Heitinger became the fifth person ever to be sent off in a World Cup final, he pulled back Iniesta on the edge of the area; the referee had no choice but to give him his second caution. This seemed to inspire Spain and they soon scored the winning goal.