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Spain will play in their first ever FIFA World Cup final Sunday after dominating International play the last few years.  After losing their opening match to Switzerland 1-0, the Spanish have yet to allow a goal and are dominating opponents with constant possession of the ball.  If Spain wins the match they will become the first team to ever lose their opening match and win the cup.

To beat the Netherlands, Spain will have to find the back of the net.  It’s that simple.  The midfield combination of Andres Iniesta, Xaxi Hernandez, and Segio Busquets have controlled every match and need to do the same in the final.  The Netherlands midfield is strong, but is no where near the technical side of Spain.  Xavi has been Spain’s MVP in my opinion as he is always looking for the ball and rarely loses it.

The question mark for Spain will be the starting lineup once again.  Fernando Torres started each match up top leading up to the semifinal but was benched as he failed to score a goal.  I like Torres up top even if he is not scoring as he allows David Villa to shift out wide left where he is at his best.

Spain’s defense has only conceded one goal so far as they have been superb in the back.  Defenders Gerard Pique,Carlos Puyol,Sergio Ramos, and Joan Capdevilla have been excellent in front of Iker Casillas.  Casillas has quietly had an excellent tournament showing why his is considered the best keeper in the world.

I do see Spain winning the game but it won’t be easy.  Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder have given defenders fits so far and will look to expose the Spanish defense on the counter. Dirk Kuyt has also been dangerous from the outside and if any team can break through the Spanish defense it’s Holland.  

Spain will win the match 2-0 and hoist their first ever FIFA World Cup! David Villa will score both goals to lead Spain to the victory.

Here is a great video of Spanish fans celebrating the goal.  I can only imagine if they win on Sunday!

This will be the third time the Netherlands have reached the FIFA World Cup final as they look to win their first ever cup.  Holland fell to hosts West Germany in the ’74 final and also lost to hosts Argentina in the ’78 cup final.  The Netherlands are thrilled to not play the host country as it truly is an advantage for the host country.

To beat Spain, Holland will have to stay patient in the back and finish their scoring chances.  Spain plays a very technical game and are fine with keeping possession as long as possible to create scoring opportunities.  Holland are also superb in keeping possession of the ball but Spain is just too good in the midfield.

If Holland can get an early goal they could possibly win the match.  Spain has shown throughout the tournament that they struggle to find the back of the net.  As much as the Spanish backs get involved in the attack, Holland has the talent to punish Spain on the counter.  Even as Spain dominated Germany in the semifinal, the Germans still had some decent opportunities to take the lead with their best play maker(Muller) on the bench.

Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben will have to pick their chances to attack the Spanish defense wisely.  Sneijder has been the player of the tournament so far and Robben looks unstoppable going forward.  Robin Van Persie needs to be a bit more creative but I expect him to have a huge game.  The Spanish center back combination of Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique has been stellar only allowing 1 goal so far and it was in the opening match.

The Netherlands have been the best team on paper so far but will fall to Spain on Sunday.  Spain will control the match from the first whistle and win 2-0.

Here is the fan reaction to the semifinal victory to send them to the finals!

At the beginning of the game Brazil was 35-0-2 when leading at halftime in the World Cup. After going up a goal before halftime into today’s match, the number one team in the world broke that streak falling to the Dutch 2-1, in the first match of the quarterfinals.

Brazil opened up the match totally dominating the boys in orange. In the 10^th minute Robinho made a great diagonal run behind the Dutch defense and put his side up a goal. Felipe Melo sent an amazing ball from midfield right down the heart of the opposition’s defense and Robinho calmly tucked the ball away.

In the 31^st minute Brazil nearly went up two goals if not for some very acrobatic goaltending. After some great combination passing Kaka found himself with an open shot from the top of the box. The shot was headed right for the upper ninety but Netherland keeper Maarten Stekelenburg made what could be the save of the tournament, to keep his side down a goal.

After halftime Holland came out putting much more pressure on the Brazilians and slowly gained the momentum in the match. In the 53^rd minute Brazil Allowed its first own goal in its illustrious World Cup career off a Wesley Sneijder shot from outside the eighteen.

Arguably one of the best keepers in the world, Julio Cesar, tried to come out and punch the ball out but hit his own player instead, causing the ball to deflect off of Melo and into the back of the net.

In the 68^th minute every jaw in the world dropped to the floor, when the Flying Dutchmen scored on a corner kick to go up 2-1.

Arjen Robben sent a low ball to the near post and Dirk Kuyt flicked the ball into the middle of the six-yard box. Sneijder, the smallest man on the field at 5’7”, used every inch of his frame to send the ball into the corner of the goal. It was a terrific goal and for the first time in the tournament the Brazilians looked to be on their heels.

In the 73^rd minute Melo lost all composure when he was sent off with a straight red. After Robben fell to the ground for about the fiftieth time, Melo had had enough and stomped on the back of his leg with his cleats. Melo let his team and nation down as his side would play the rest of the game a man down.

Brazil could never regain the momentum in the match and were lucky not to get beat four to one. Dunga will have some serious explaining to do as his entire country has been criticizing his style of play. Brazil will not stand for anything besides being world champions and someone’s head has to roll.

Brazil will have to wait another four years to win its sixth World Cup, when they play host to the tournament in 2014, but don’t count on Dunga being at the helm.

The opening match from day four of the 2010 World Cup was the much anticipated Dutch and Danish match-up. Unfortunately, for the Danish side the game was not as close as some people expected. The Orange Crush came out and dominated this one from whistle to whistle.

Denmark kept the game scoreless in the first half against what was supposed to be one of the most offensively gifted teams in the tournament. Then in the 46th minute Simon Poulsen scored an own goal when his header deflected off his teammate and into the goal. Then in the 85th minute Dirk Kuyt tapped a goal in from close range when second half sub Eljero Elia’s shot deflected off the post.

In the second match of the day Japan came away with three huge points when they upset a dumbfounded Cameroon squad. This was Japans first ever win in a World Cup off of Japanese soil. Cameroon really never seemed to get into the flow of the game and in the 38th minute Keisuke Honda came away with the games only goal.

Cameroon had their chances as the game came to an end rattling a shot off the cross bar from 30-yards out and narrowly missing an opportunity right in front of goal if not for a great save by Japan’s Eiji Kawashima. Cameroon was definitely the most talented group on the pitch but Japan worked harder and were more cohesive as a team.

In the final match of day Italy and Paraguay would end in a 1-1 draw.  The defending champions did not have their best performance but they are generally considered a slow starting squad.  Paraguay will come away thrilled to get a point from thier opening match with the Italians.

Paraguay scored on basically their only opportunity in the first half in the 39th minute when Antolin Alcaraz finished off a beautiful free kick served in from the right side past a helpless Gianluigi Buffon.  Italy would finally break through to tie the match in the 63rd minute when Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar misplayed a corner kick and let the ball drop to a charging Daniele De Rossi who volleyed it in.

The defending champions need to figure out who is going to score goals for them.  Watching this match made me question why American born Guiseppe Rossi was left off this roster.  Italy looks slow moving forward and needs some energy if they are to do well in the tournament.

Here is a great video of the goals from today by David Matthews with some great music over at Deadspin.com-Your Culturally Insensitive World Cup Goal Roundup For June 14