Spain finally crawled out from underneath its tag as World Cup underachievers by winning the trophy in their 13th tournament with a 1-0 win over Holland in Johannesburg, South Africa on July 11th. However, it did take them extra time do it and against a 10-man team at the time as midfielder Andres Iniesta scored his second goal of the tournament in the 116th minute to seal the win. Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga was sent off the pitch after receiving his second yellow card just minutes earlier.

It was a physical game right from the get go, but while it might have appeared to be a classic matchup on paper, it didn’t turn out that way on the pitch. In fact, it followed the disturbing trend of the past four World Cup Final games as it didn’t live up to the hype at all.

Many fans may have been dozing for the first few minutes, but Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg woke them up with a fine diving save to thwart a powerful header from Sergio Ramos in the sixth minute. Ramos got his head to a free kick from Xavi and headed it down towards the bottom corner of the net, but Stekelenburg dove to his right and knocked it away.

Sportsbook offers great odds on all sporting events. Sign up here to claim your bonus!

The tackles were coming in fast and furious during the first half, but not the scoring chances. Nigel De Jong may have been fortunate to stay on the pitch as his high boot caught Xabi Alonso in the chest, but the Dutch midfielder escaped with a yellow card instead of a red. His was the fifth yellow of the game already by the 30-minute mark.

Holland showed some creativity in the 37th minute on a clever corner kick when winger Arjen Robben rolled the ball back to midfielder Mark van Bommell and he either purposely or unwittingly sent it into the box to unmarked defender Joris Mathijsen who then completely mis-kicked it. The Dutch got some confidence from this though, and Spanish keeper and captain Iker Casillas was forced to dive low to keep out a drive from Robben just before half time.

Holland started the second half with a bit more purpose and had a golden opportunity to jump out into the lead in the 62nd minute when midfielder Wesley Sneijder sent Robben in all alone on Casillas. Robben took a shot on the oncoming Casillas, but the keeper deflected it wide of the net with his foot.

Villa had a chance to get Spain on the board in the 70th minute when a cross from winger Jesus Nava found him in front of the net, but Villa couldn’t add to his total of five tournament goals as his shot was deflected behind the goal. Defender Carles Puyol then missed another opportunity eight minutes later as his header was thundered over the net.

Robben broke in on Casillas again in the 82nd minute as he sped by Puyol, but it looked like the Spaniard did enough to impede him and Casillas came out to make another fine save.

Spain started the extra time period strongly and Cesc Fabregas was sent in by Iniesta on what looked like a sure goal only to have Stekelenburg come racing out of the net to deny him. Spain kept the pressure on, but some fine defensive play by the Dutch kept the game goalless. However, everything fell apart for Holland after captain Giovanni Van Bronckhorst was substituted in the 105th minute for some strange reason as the defender was having an excellent game. Four minutes later, Heitinga was shown his second yellow card after hauling down Iniesta outside of the box.

Seven minutes after that, Iniesta took a pass from Fabregas in the penalty area and hammered a right-footer from about eight yards that Stekelenburg got his hand to, but couldn’t keep out of the net.

Referee Howard Webb of England is bound to come under criticism from some quarters, but to be fair, he did a fine job and the 14 yellow cards he handed out were all deserved.

While Spain are now champions of Europe and the world, let’s not forget they got out of the group round by the skin of their teeth after losing to Switzerland in their first game. And If Robben’s finishing touch matched his speed we might be singing another tune right now. So if there is a gap between Spain and Holland, and the rest of the world for that matter, it’s a very narrow one at best.

However, the Spanish put the ball in the net when it counted and all credit to them.

Claim your World Cup bonus at SportsInteraction now!

Holland does also have one of the best attacking options in players like Sneijder, Van Persie, Robben and Kuyt. They should be able to force a goal in this match even if the Spanish showed an impressive defence so far in the tournament.

None of the teams has ever won a World Cup final so there is no such experience to gain from. Holland has lost the final twice though, and they are out for revenge. Read our full match review of Holland vs Spain.

My gamblers bet would be a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes and Holland to lift the trophy after extra time.

Here is my pick for today’s final:

Draw after 90 minutes – +235 (3.35, 47/20) at BetUS

Most goals in the 2nd half – +110 (2.10, 11/10) at Sportsbook.com

Holland to score first – +160 (2.60, 8/5) at Sportsbook.com

Holland to win the World Cup – 2.62 (13/8) at Bet365 (non US) and +150 (2.50) at SportsInteraction

Robin van Persie to score first goal – 8 times the money at William Hill (non US)

Claim your World Cup bonus at SportsInteraction now!

The octopus has become a the most famous mollusc in the world over the last couple of weeks as he’s been predicting the outcome of Germany’s matches and has been right on the money all six times. Paul went to the well one last time on July 9 and predicted Germany to beat Uruguay in the third-place game and Spain to beat Holland to win their first ever World Cup.

However, it seems the parakeet doesn’t agree with the eight-armed sea-dweller and has shocked the world by choosing Holland to win their first ever World Cup instead. The Octopus chooses his winner by picking a mussel at dinner time that has a flag of a country on it while Mani flips over one of two cards that have the countries flags on them with his beak.

As you can see, it’s a Mexican standoff here and bettors all over the globe don’t know which way to turn. The 13-year-old parakeet isn’t as well known as Paul, but he’s also becoming a bit of a local celebrity after his owner M Muniyappan revealed the bird correctly chose the winners for the four World Cup quarterfinals games as well as Spain’s victory over Germany in the semi final.

Claim your World Cup bonus at SportsInteraction now!

The 80-year-old Muniyappan claims to be a fortune teller and stated that Mani has been helping him forecast the future for the last five years outside the front of a restaurant located in the city’s Little India neighbourhood. However, he added this is the first time the bird has gotten involved in the wide world of sports.

Muniyappan, who was born in India, said most people come to him for advice on marriage dates and lottery numbers, but gamblers finally caught on and figured they’d give it a shot during the World Cup. He said he used to get about 10 customers a day, but that number has swelled to 30 now that Mani has made the headlines around the globe.

It seems the octopus and parakeet haven’t changed the bookmakers odds much with their psychic predictions as Ladbrokes still has Spain favoured at odds of 23/20, while Holland is listed at 53/20 and the odds of a draw at the end of 90 minutes are 11/5.

Of course, not everybody’s happy with Mani’s or Paul’s picks, but come Sunday night at least we’ll know who the real McCoy is.

Webb is a former policeman who was made a FIFA-listed referee in 2005 and keeps things in control during the season in the English Premier League. Webb has been a well-respected referee over the years and has earned a reputation of being one of the best in the game. He was focused on by Belgian film-makers at the European Championship in 2008 for a film named “The Referees.” Webb was also assigned the UEFA Champions League final in May in Madrid between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.

So far at this year’s World Cup in South Africa, the Englishman’s games have included Switzerland’s 1-0 win over Spain in the group stage as well as Slovakia’s 3-2 win over Italy which knocked the defending World Cup champions out of the tournament. He also worked Brazil’s 3-0 win over Chile in the playoff round.

Webb’s father was also a referee and the youngster began officiating games when he was 18 years old. In 2003 he took control of his first match in the English Premier League when Wolverhampton Wanderers kicked off against Fulham.

He officiated the FA Community Shield game in 2005 between Chelsea and Arsenal and in November of the same year, refereed his first national team game, which was a friendly between Portugal and Northern Ireland in Belfast.

Webb was in charge of the English League Cup final in 2007 between Chelsea and Arsenal. The same year he worked his first Champions League match and was sent to the Canada for the U-20 World Cup, where he presided over five games, including a semi-final between the Czech Republic and Austria. He also refereed in last year’s Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Webb becomes the fourth Englishman to referee a World Cup final game. The others were George Reader (1950), William Ling (1954) and John Taylor (1974). Benito Archundia of Mexico will referee the third-place game between Uruguay and Germany in Port Elizabeth on July 10th.

One thing is guaranteed when the final whistle blows at the World Cup Final at Soccer City in Johannesburg on July 11 is that second-ranked Spain or fourth-ranked Holland will be lifting their first ever World Cup in celebration. Neither team has managed to get their hands on it yet, however Holland came close in both 1974 and 1978 when they lost in the final game.

The Spanish have never gotten this far before with their best ever World Cup finish coming back in 1950 when they ended up in fourth. Spain has disappointed its fans numerous times over the years as they always seemed to underachieve when it came to the World Cup. But this time it might be different as they appear to be hitting their peak at the right moment. The Spanish completely dominated Germany in their 1-0 semi final win with their passing display and ball possession. However, for all of the excellent football they played, they didn’t really create many chances until the second half.

Sportsbook offers great odds on the World Cup Final. Sign up here to claim your bonus!

Like the rest of the squad, goalkeeper Iker Casillas is improving with every game and it’s going to take a well-placed shot to beat him. Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg struggled a little in his team’s 3-2 semi final win over Uruguay and it appears Spain has the edge in net. Holland midfielder Demy De Zeeuw could miss the game after it’s feared he suffered a broken jaw in the semi final, but midfielder Nigel de Jong and defender Gregory van der Wiel are back from suspension.

Spain likes to move forward and attack as a team and the Dutch will have to counter this by putting pressure on them every chance they get. If Holland stands around and gives the opposition time and space on the ball they will be mesmerized by the tic-tac-toe passing. The first goal in the game is very important, especially for the Dutch. If Spain scores first they like to protect the lead by playing keep away and then catching teams late in the game on the break. Holland, on the other hand, usually likes to keep attacking. If they have one goal, they want to score two, and so on. They don’t try and hang onto a lead, they try and add to it.

As an interesting sidebar, Spanish striker David Villa and Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder go into the game with five goals each and are currently tied for the lead in the Golden Boot award. One of them could win it outright with a goal or two here and each player is the key to his team’s chances. If Villa can be marked tightly, Spanish chances on goal will be reduced dramatically. Striker Fernando Torres might start on the bench again and even though he’s had a poor tournament, can still be a game breaker.

Spain v Netherlands Best Odds and Predictions

The Dutch have more offensive power with the likes of midfielder Robin van Persie, winger Arjen Robben and forwards Dirk Kuyt and Klaas Jan Huntelaar. If they can score first, keep attacking and pile on the pressure over a full 90 minutes they should be able to win by a goal. Holland needs to study the way Germany played against Spain in the semi final and make sure they learn from it and don’t play the same way. Spain will play their passing and possession game, but might pay for it in the end by not creating enough chances. Look for the Dutch to finally lift the World Cup in their third final with a 2-1 win.

Sportsbook.com gives 13 times the money for a Dutch 2-1 win. Another interesting bet is 2.10 (+110, 11/10) on a bet that the 2nd half will see most goals, also at Sportsbook (USA friendly)

The two teams have met times eight times in the past and Holland has the edge with four wins, three losses and a draw. They’ve been outscored by Spain 12 to 10 in those games though.

Spain is favoured to lift the trophy at Bet365 (non-US) as the site has the odds of them listed at 23/20 while a Dutch victory is posted at 53/20. The odds of a draw after 90 minutes and going into extra time are at 11/5.

Claim your World Cup bonus at BetUS now!

For the other matches in the tournament, a ball called the JABULANI will be used. The name means “to celebrate” in Zulu, which is spoken by 25% of South Africans and is one of their eleven official languages. The JO’BULANI is a special edition of the ball, named for Johannesburg’s common nickname Jo’burg, and it will only be used in the final match. Whilst the same ball from a technical perspective, the JO’BULANI is more golden in colour, just like the gold of the Wordl Cup’s Jules Rimet trophy.

The footballs used in World Cup tournaments advance each time, with manufacturers Adidas aiming to make each ball better than before. The Teamgeist, for example, was made up of just 14 moulded panels compared with the 32 stitched hexagonal panels of a regular football, making it much rounder. With the JABULANI they have reduced this to 8 panels, making this the rounded football ever made.

The ball has texturised groove texturing to help goal keepers handle it and also, according to the boffins at Adidas, to help it fly more smoothly, in the same way as the dimples on a golf ball.

It is also the most waterproof football ever used in such a tournament, so even if the South African weather surprises everyone and it rains the whole time the ball will retain almost no moisture at all, preventing it from becoming sluggish in its movement.

As well as the science behind making the best possible ball for the competition, the aesthetic design of the JABULANI has been carefully considered to try and capture the spirit of the first African World Cup. The design is made up of eleven different colours, because the number eleven is symbolic both of the eleven players on a football team and the eleven tribes of South Africa.

As with previous World Cup balls including the Teamgeist, replicas of both the JABULANI and the golden JO’BULANI balls will be available for fans to buy.