The Netherlands will face either Spain or Germany in the Final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ after beating Uruguay by the odd goal in five in the first of the tournament’s semi-finals at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium. Bert van Marwijk’s side were worthy of their victory but were made to work hard for it in an eventful last four encounter punctuated by excellent goals from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Diego Forlan, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Maximiliano Pereira.

Having gone into this match on a record 24-match unbeaten streak, the Dutch started as favourites, and it was a tag they would justify during an entertaining first half. Van Marwijk’s side certainly began in positive fashion, with Robben darting beyond his marker at the first opportunity inside four minutes. Sneijder profited from his former Real Madrid team-mate’s dynamism, curling in a right-foot cross that, following an unconvincing punch from Fernando Muslera, was hurriedly controlled and volleyed just over by the lively Dirk Kuyt.

It was an early moment of concern for La Celeste, but they recovered admirably and, with the pace of the game dropping, looked to be comfortably holding the Oranje at bay. With the Dutch threat minimal, the Uruguayan defenders would have been forgiven for not sensing any immediate danger when Van Bronckhorst picked up the ball over 30 yards from goal, close to the left touchline. Yet it was from this seemingly unthreatening position that the Dutch captain unleashed a stunning left-foot shot that Muslera, despite applying a despairing touch, could only divert into the top corner via the inside of the post.

It was a magnificent strike, a cast-iron contender for goal of the tournament, and it gave the Netherlands an advantage they continued to prove worthy of as the half progressed. However, the Dutch were not the only team capable of conjuring a goal out of nothing, with Forlan providing an equally unexpected equaliser four minutes before the break.

Uruguay’s captain for the night had hitherto been relatively subdued, but the Dutch defence made the mistake of affording him too much space 25 yards from goal – and were ruthlessly punished. Shaping to spread the ball wide, Forlan instead turned inside on his left foot and curled in a superb left-foot shot that, thanks partly to a slight deflection off the head of John Heitinga, deceived the wrong-footed Maarten Stekelenburg.

Uruguay started the second half with something to build on, therefore, and they looked the more threatening of the two sides early on, with Van Bronckhorst forced to head off the line from a Pereira effort and Stekelenburg parrying clear a goal-bound Forlan free-kick.

The Dutch were unruffled, however, and their patient probing at the other end almost paid dividends when Robin van Persie’s intelligent reverse pass teed up substitute Rafael van der Vaart for a shot from the left-hand edge of the box. With the strike accurate and firmly struck, Muslera could only parry clear, but Robben proved unable to gobble up the rebound, blazing over from an acute angle.

Denied on this occasion, the Dutch moved in front a couple of minutes later, as Sneijder scored his fifth goal of the tournament, again benefiting from a telling deflection, this time off the thigh of Pereira, that sent his 20-yard shot spinning past Muslera. Uruguay needed a response, and quickly, but with 17 minutes remaining their hopes were all but ended when Robben doubled the Netherlands’ advantage.

A terrific goal it was too, with the Dutch winger sneaking in unnoticed to bullet a textbook header in off the base of the left-hand post from a measured Kuyt cross. Pereira did score an equally excellent consolation, converting expertly with a curling left-foot shot from a quickly-taken free-kick, but this injury-time effort was to prove too little, too late for the last of the non-European representatives.

Materials by FIFA.com

Spain set up a potentially thrilling semi-final meeting with Germany but the European champions had to do it the hard way, requiring a lone second-half strike from David Villa to claim a 1-0 win over a resilient Paraguay 1-0 at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park. The goal saw Villa take an outright lead in the race for the adidas Golden Boot with five goals but the match was as much a tale of two failed spot-kicks, one for each side.

Vicente del Bosque fielded an unchanged Spanish line-up to that which defeated neighbours Portugal 1-0 four days ago. Conversely, Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino made six changes to the team which squeezed past Japan on penalties. Left out were his trio of misfiring strikers, with Roque Santa Cruz, Edgar Benitez and Lucas Barrios all consigned to the bench.

Both sides went into the match aiming for new heights. Spain clinched a top-four finish in 1950 in a round-robin final stage but they have never competed in a FIFA World Cup™ semi-final, while Paraguay had already achieved a first by progressing past the Round of 16.

If Spain were feeling complacent, then one of the new faces in La Albirroja’s forward line, Jonathan Santana, provided an early wake-up call by forcing Iker Casillas into a save in the opening minute. Paraguay didn’t allow Spain to settle and successfully disrupted their normally crisp passing game during the first half. The in-form Villa only rarely found space on the left flank in the early stages, while at the other end Nelson Valdez looked dangerous whenever Paraguay made forays forward.

Spain midfielder Xavi took matters into his own hands on the half-hour mark with a wonderful snap-shot; the dipping volley from 25 yards clearing the crossbar with goalkeeper Justo Villar scrambling. Minutes later at the other end, Santana narrowly failed to connect with a diving header from a Claudio Morel cross. Valdez then had the ball in the net four minutes before the break only to see his effort disallowed for offside as Paraguay finished the first half in a positive frame of mind.

The second half commenced in similar fashion to the first period, with neither goalkeeper under threat until a remarkable period around the hour-mark. The drama began when Gerard Pique wrestled Oscar Cardozo to the ground as a corner, Paraguay’s first of the night, was played in from the left. Cardozo looked set to give La Albirroja a stunning lead from the penalty spot against the European champions only for skipper Casillas to rescue his side with a superb diving save to his left.

Within 60 seconds, Antolin Alcaraz was deemed to have bundled over Villa in the penalty area and Spain had their own chance from the spot. Xabi Alonso buried his spot-kick but Spanish joy was shortlived, with a retake ordered for encroachment. This time Villar dived low to his left and parried Alonso’s effort, and Paraguay scrambled the rebound to safety.

Minutes later, Andres Iniesta hit a curling effort that was well blocked by Villar, and it was indeed to be the Barcelona midfielder who proved the difference in the decisive moment of the match seven minutes from time. Budweiser Man of the Match Iniesta made a driving run from midfield, teeing up Pedro, whose shot hit Villar’s right-hand post before rebounding to Villa. The Spain No7 accepted the gift, placing his effort against the left-hand post but eventually nestling into the net, but only after rebounding off the opposite post.

In the final minute, Casillas saved his side with a double block from Santa Cruz and Barrios, while Villa was similarly denied by the impressive Villar in a lighting counter-attack.

By FIFA.com

Germany are through to the semi-finals after producing another masterful performance to beat Argentina 4-0 at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium. Diego Maradona’s Albiceleste came into this match with high hopes of avenging their quarter-final defeat in 2006 but they ultimately had no answer to a slick, powerful German side who will now face either Spain or Paraguay in the last four.

Games as eagerly-anticipated as this one often disappoint, but this particular encounter took just three minutes to catch fire as Joachim Low’s side snatched an early advantage. Bastian Schweinsteiger provided the assist with a superbly judged inswinging free-kick, and with Sergio Romero caught in no man’s land, Thomas Muller applied the slightest of headed touches to flick the ball into the net. It was Germany’s 200th FIFA World Cup™ goal, their fastest in 32 years and the quickest so far at South Africa 2010. The only downside for Low’s side was that it left Argentina with 87 minutes to respond.

However, it was the Germans who continued to carve out the better chances, with Miroslav Klose – winning his 100th cap – firing wastefully over from the edge of the box after some outstanding, unselfish set-up play from Muller. Argentina attempted to grab a foothold, with Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain creating decent shooting positions, but on each occasion Manuel Neuer proved equal to their goal-bound efforts.

Nevertheless, as the match wore on, La Albiceleste relied increasingly on speculative long-range efforts, with the subdued Lionel Messi firing over just before the break and Di Maria missing the left-hand post by a matter of inches with a ferociously-struck 25-yard drive. Germany also remained a constant threat on the break, and Podolski – who had earlier come close to scoring himself – was to lead the counter-attack that provided Low’s team with their all-important second goal.

With the second half reaching its midway point, the Cologne forward broke clear on the left and, from a position where he would have been forgiven for shooting, he instead squared intelligently for Klose to tap home from inside the six yard box. The goal left Argentina with little option but to throw men forward, and with Diego Maradona’s side over-committed, Germany proceeded to pick them off on the break.

Within six minutes of Klose making it two, Arne Friedrich removed any lingering doubts over the outcome with another close-range finish, profiting on this occasion from a dazzling solo run from the excellent Schweinsteiger. There was even time for Klose to rub salt into Argentinian wounds, side-footing home Mesut Ozil’s measured cross with a minute remaining to round off a memorable German win.

Paraguay squeezed through to the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time in their history as Yuichi Komano’s penalty miss sent Japan crashing out of the tournament. With the game goalless at the end of extra time in Pretoria, South Africa witnessed its first shoot-out and, after Komano had clipped the crossbar, Oscar Cardozo rolled home the winning spot-kick to give the South Americans a 5-3 win and a last-eight tie against either Spain or Portugal.

Neither side had ever reached a FIFA World Cup quarter-final, and perhaps the weight of expectation explained a largely uninspiring contest at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Paraguay enjoyed the majority of possession in the early stages but were struggling to find their range as much as their opponents. The game suddenly, albeit very briefly, exploded into life around the 20-minute mark when both goalkeepers were finally awoken from their slumbers. First, Paraguay’s Lucas Barrios turned neatly in the penalty area to escape the attentions of two Japan defenders, before firing straight at Eiji Kawashima. Then, a minute later, Daisuke Matsui crashed a curled long-range effort against the crossbar.

Paraguay almost made their mark in the 29th minute when Roque Santa Cruz found himself unmarked in the area. The Manchester City forward looked surprised to find Claudio Morel’s corner at his feet, and that moment of hesitation proved his undoing as he subsequently flashed his shot wide. Shortly after, Honda’s ball into the box appeared threatening but Carlos Bonet was able to step in and steer the ball to safety. Yasuhito Endo then whipped in a free-kick at pace but Santa Cruz, now on defensive duty, was able to clear the danger with a diving header.

Minutes later, Japan broke at pace and should have done better in a promising situation, with three advancing forwards outnumbering the Paraguay defence. Matsui squared the ball to Keisuke Honda but the CSKA Moscow star chose to ignore the run of the unmarked Yoshito Okubo to his left, instead opting to try his luck from distance. Disappointingly, his left-footed drive finished wide of goalkeeper Justo Villar’s post.

Takeshi Okada’s side began the second half with a team huddle, aware they needed to break free of their first-half shackles if they were to make that crucial breakthrough. But it was Paraguay who fired the first statement of intent as Nestor Ortigoza did his best to change the pattern of the game but his mazy run into the box was eventually smothered by the Japanese defence. It was a rare moment of enterprise in a game that had so far failed to inspire. As Gerardo Martino’s team picked up the pace, only the outstretched boot of Yuji Nakazawa prevented Edgar Benitez from finding the target, while Cristian Riveros could only plant his header into the palms of Kawashima. Marcus Tulio Tanaka was unlucky not to profit from Endo’s dangerous corner or substitute Shunsuke Nakamura’s knock-on, while Santa Cruz’s looping header was easily beaten away as the game drifted towards extra time.

With another Japan huddle dismantled, Shinji Okazaki looped a header just over and Barrios’s firm header was an easy collect for Kawashima, while Nelson Valdez’s toe-poke was smothered. Edgar Barretto’s hooked shot finished a yard over as both sides finally started to loosen up in the additional 30 minutes but after Okazaki went close with a header in the dying minutes, it was left to penalties to decide the seventh quarter-final place. Only one player of nine missed but victory was Paraguay’s by this narrowest of margins.