NETHERLANDS 0-1 SPAIN (AET), Johannesburg, 11/07/10
Iniesta 116

Viva España! Spain are the new undisputed unofficial and official world champions, winning both the Unofficial Football World Championships title and the World Cup to unify both competitions. As current European champions, Spain can also claim to have unified the UFWC, the WC and the EC, a feat that only France have previously achieved. [Correction: West Germany also achieved this.]

In the end, Spain needed extra time to see off previous UFWC champs the Netherlands in a game that didn’t quite live up to its billing as one of the biggest international football matches of all time. But while spectators may not have seen the total football feast that was hoped from two of the most attractive sides in world football, there was plenty to entertain.

Spain left Fernando Torres on the bench and went with David Villa and Pedro up front, while Holland delighted football purists by once again lining up wearing shirts numbered 1 to 11. Unfortunately, the game itself provided little else for football purists, with pass and move pretty much abandoned in favour of kick and shove.

To say that the game was hotly contested would be an understatement. From the start, both sides flung themselves into tackles, and English referee Howard Webb was forced to go to his pocket more times than any other World Cup final official. Five yellow cards were shown with the first 30 minutes after a flurry of fouls, the worst of which was surely Nigel de Jong’s chest-high Kung Fu assault on Xabi Alonso.

There were also chances. Sergio Ramos, Villa and Pedro all had half chances for Spain, Wesley Sneijder struck a decent long range effort for Holland, and Arjen Robben forced the best save of the first half from Iker Casillas. Spain just had the edge at half-time, but with the Dutch creating the odd chance the game was still anyone’s.

The best chance of the second half undoubtedly fell to the Dutch, with Robben racing clear of the Spanish defence, only to see his shot deflect wide off the advancing Casillas. At the other end, Villa almost capitalised on a mistake from John Heitinga, but Maarten Stekelenburg blocked his shot. Again, though, there were more fouls than chances, and the 90 minutes elapsed without a goal.

In extra time, with the teams tiring and attacking substitution made by both managers, the game became more stretched. But again Howard Webb was forced to take centre stage. As the fouls continued it was inevitable that someone would be sent off. With 11 minutes to go, that someone was John Heitinga, dismissed after a second booking, perhaps somewhat unluckily given the number of much worse fouls that had gone unpunished from others on the pitch. And the red card would prove to be a decisive factor.

With five minutes of extra time remaining, a Sneijder free kick was deflected behind by both Cesc Fabregas and Casillas, yet Spain were awarded a goal kick. Then Eljero Elia was fouled on the edge of the Spanish box, only for Howard Webb to wave play on. Spain immediately launched a counter attack, surging through the outnumbered Dutch. Fabregas did well to play in Andres Iniesta, who drove the ball past Stekelenburg into the corner of the Dutch net. 1-0 to Spain and, as the 11 men saw the game out, that was how it ended. Football had new champions.

Spain were deserved victors, having shaded the game throughout. But pundits who lambasted Holland’s ‘thuggish’ tactics were perhaps being a little unfair. While 8 Dutch players were booked, 5 Spaniards also had their names taken, so neither side could be considered to have approached the game as angels. And match winner and man of the match Iniesta could very easily have been sent off for lashing out at Mark van Bommel in the 78th minute.

Spain’s win ended the best ever UFWC title run, with the Dutch having gone 21 title matches unbeaten. It is worth taking a moment to mention the achievements of the Netherlands, who took the title into the World Cup and won every tournament game until being stopped by the excellent Spanish. Along the way, the Dutch climbed to 4th in the all-time UFWC rankings, behind only Scotland, England and Argentina – an incredible achievement for a side that didn’t win a UFWC match until 1973, more than a hundred years after the UFWC began. The Netherland’s epic reign as UFWC champions will not be swiftly forgotten.

But now it is Spain that deserve the plaudits. As undisputed unofficial and official champions they join that select list of nations that has held the unified titles. Spain don’t have a fantastic record in the UFWC – they’ve won 16 UFWC matches and are ranked 12th in the all-time table – but, with such a great team, this is their chance to make their mark on the UFWC competition.

There is dancing in the streets of Madrid, but once the celebrations are over, the hard work must continue. For while the World Cup may be over, the UFWC continues as usual. Next up for Spain is a match against Mexico on 11 August. We’ll be watching. Why not stick around and join us?

Match Reports Netherlands, Spain

NETHERLANDS vs SPAIN, Johannesburg, 11/07/10

Wow. The biggest match in world football just got even bigger. On Sunday, in Johannesburg, the Netherlands and Spain will compete not just for the World Cup, but also for the Unofficial Football World Championships title. This unification match will see the winner crowned official, unofficial and undisputed football world champions. That’s an honour that only a handful of other nations have previously held. As if either side needed any more encouragement, or any fan needed any other reason to watch, this World Cup final is going to be one of the most important in the history of football. Overstating things? Us? Never!

In this extra special, in-depth, fact-packed, second part of our big match preview we’ll look back through the UFWC archives to find out where this unification match stands in UFWC history.

First up, some numbers for you:

835: This will be the 835th UFWC title match, in a lineage stretching back to 1872.
46: The UFWC title has been held by 46 different nations.
49: The Netherlands have won 49 UFWC title matches.
4: The Dutch are currently ranked fourth in the UFWC all-time rankings.
3: But, if they win on Sunday, they’ll move up to third, level with Argentina.
15: Spain have won 15 UFWC title games.
13: The Spanish are ranked 13th in the all-time rankings.
19: Number of World Cup tournaments.
11: Number of times the UFWC has been contested at the World Cup tournament.
8: This will be the 8th time the UFWC has been contested in the World Cup final.
7: Number of nations that have held the undisputed UFWC and WC titles.
8: Whoever out of Netherlands and Spain that win on Sunday will become the eighth.

Now let’s take a quick look at the history of the UFWC at WC tournaments. The following list shows which teams were unofficial and official champions at the end of each tournament:

1930: UFWC: England WC: Uruguay
Not contested. Unofficial champions England were not invited to participate.
1934: UFWC: Wales WC: Italy
Not contested. Wales did not enter.
1938: UFWC: Scotland WC: Italy
Not contested. Scotland did not enter.
1950: UFWC: Chile WC: Uruguay
Contested but not unified. Unofficial champions England participated, but lost to the USA, who lost to Chile, who were eliminated at the group stage.
1954: UFWC: Paraguay WC: West Germany
Not contested: Paraguay failed to qualify.
1958: UFWC: Brazil WC: Brazil
Unification. champs West Germany lost to Sweden in the semi final, and Brazil won both unofficial and official titles in the final.
1962: UFWC: Mexico WC: Brazil
Contested but not unified. Spain were UFWC title holders, but lost to Czechoslovakia, who lost to Mexico, who went out at the group stage.
1966: UFWC: England WC: England
Unification. The USSR took the UFWC title into the WC, but lost to West Germany in the semi final. England won both the UFWC and WC in the final.
1970: UFWC: Switzerland WC: Brazil
Not contested. Switzerland failed to qualify.
1974: UFWC: West Germany WC: West Germany
Unification. The Netherlands went into the WC as UFWC title holders, and held on all the way to the final before being defeated by West Germany.
1978: UFWC: Argentina WC: Argentina
Unification. France were UFWC champs, but lost to Italy, who lost to the Netherlands, who again lost in the final, this time to Argentina.
1982: UFWC: Italy WC: Italy
Unification. UFWC Champs Peru lost to Poland, who lost to Italy, who won the undisputed title.
1986: UFWC: Argentina WC: Argentina
Unification. West Germany lost the title to Denmark, who lost to Spain, who lost to Belgium, who in turn lost to eventual champions Argentina.
1990: UFWC: Greece WC: West Germany
Not contested. Greece failed to qualify for the World Cup.
1994: UFWC: Colombia WC: Brazil
Contested but not unified. UFWC title holders Romania lost to Switzerland, who lost to Colombia, who were eliminated at the group stage.
1998: UFWC: France WC: France
Unification. Argentina were UFWC champions, but lost the title to the Netherlands, who lost to Brazil, who were defeated by France in the final.
2002: UFWC: Netherlands WC: Brazil
Not contested. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the World Cup.
2006: UFWC: Uruguay WC: Italy
Not contested. Unofficial champs Uruguay failed to qualify.
2010: UFWC: ? WC: ?
Unification. Whoever wins on Sunday, they will become undisputed champions as holders of both the unofficial and official titles.

No team has ever taken the UFWC title into a World Cup tournament and left with it at the end. Only one team has ever taken the title into a World Cup tournament and progressed all the way to the final. That team is the Netherlands – they did it in 1978 and they’ve done it again this year. Can they become the first team to finish the tournament undefeated?

In addition to the occasions mentioned above, the undisputed title has also been won outside of the World Cup tournament. Italy were the first side to achieve the feat, in 1939, and also the last, in 2007. The full list of undisputed UFWC and WC champions is:

Italy 1939
Uruguay 1954
West Germany 1958
Brazil 1958
England 1966
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Italy 1982
Argentina 1986
Brazil 1998
Brazil 1998 (lost and regained the undisputed title in same year)
France 1998
France 2000
Italy 2007

The name of either the Netherlands or Spain will be added to that list on Sunday evening. To throw another factor into play, Spain are also the current European Champions, so if they win they will be combined UFWC / WC / EC champions and unify all three titles. The only side to achieve that feat previously was France in 2000. [Correction: West Germany also achieved this in 1974.]

But let’s put the statistics aside for a moment and reflect on the match itself. This is a game between two teams that play football they way it is meant to be played – pass and move. Or at least they have tried to play this way. They’ve certainly been the two most attractive sides to watch over the course of the World Cup competition.

Underdogs the Netherlands, overlooked by many who had not been following their UFWC form, have won every match at the tournament, including beating many pundits’ favourites Brazil in the quarter finals.

Spain lost their first match to Switzerland, but have subsequently won every game, including disposing of Portugal and Germany in the knockout stages.

The two top scorers in the competition will be on the pitch on Sunday – Wesley Sneijder and David Villa have both scored five goals so far. They have been among the best players at the tournament, along with the likes of Xavi, Arjen Robben and Carlos Puyol.

Oddly, the Netherlands and Spain have never met at a major tournament before. What a way to start, with a UFWC / WC unification clash. It’s undoubtedly a difficult result to call (unless you’re Paul the psychic octopus, who has plumped for Spain in the final after a 100% correct prediction record so far this World Cup). Spain will go into the game as slight favourites with the bookies, but this one really could go either way.

This really is going to be fascinating, so book a place on the sofa, prepare the beer and snacks, take the phone off the hook, and enjoy. Who will walk away with both the CW Alcock Cup and the World Cup? Who will become undisputed unofficial and official football world champions? Netherlands versus Spain: not to overstate things again, but this just might be the biggest and best international football match of all time…

Paul will be tweeting updates during the final – follow him on Twitter @realpaulbrown.

Who go you think will win? Take part in our poll and post your comments here:

Match Previews Netherlands, Spain

NETHERLANDS vs SPAIN, Johannesburg, 11/07/10

It’s finally here. The biggest match in world football is only days away, and there is no reason to suggest that it won’t be a classic.

Both sides will be hoping to field their strongest teams, and thanks to FIFA’s decision to wipe the slate clean of yellow cards after the quarter-finals, that is very much a possibility as neither side have anybody suspended from the final. The only concern that the Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk will have is that hopefully nobody will pick up an injury in the meantime.

Spain’s coach Vincente del Bosque, unfortunately, not only has thart extra hurdle to clear but also has the added dilemma of whether to play Fernando Torres or not. The world-class striker has failed to impress at the World Cup so far, and despite a vote of confidence from del Bosque earlier this week, he was left out of the starting squad in their semi-final against Germany, where he only had a 12-minute uneventful cameo appearance. The big question is, will the coach let him start in the faith that he will perform, or will he decide not to take the risk and give another start to Pedro instead?

Possible starting line-ups:

Netherlands: Stekelenburg, Van Der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst (c), Kuyt, Van Bommel, De Jong, Robben, Sneijder, Van Persie

Spain: Casillas (c), Ramos, Pique, Puyol, Capdevilla, Iniesta, Busquets, Xavi, Alonso, Torres, Villa

And in preparation for this massive match, we will also have an article detailing the history of the UFWC at the World Cup and where this match will fit into that legacy, so stay tuned as we build up to this match to decide who are the undisputed champions of the world.

Match Previews Netherlands, Spain