Spain triumph in the Clash of the Titans

Spain are through to their first World Cup final courtesy of a stunning Carles Puyol header, which handed Vicente del Bosque’s side a 1-0 win over Germany in Durban on Wednesday night.

It was a clash between the best two teams in this tournament.  Spain won, so now they should go on to beat Holland in Sunday's final and make it a European/World Cup double.

A conservative Dutch side packed full of attacking quality stand in their way but we are looking at the best Spanish eleven of all time and I have little doubt that if both these teams play to their full potential in the final, Spain will come out on top.

Against the Germans it was always going to be an incredibly tight affair. As is often the case with the 4-2-3-1 formation, the two nations cancelled each other out completely in the first half. Spain enjoyed more possession – they always enjoy more possession – but they struggled to break down the strong German back four and it was extremely congested in the middle of the pitch, which made it difficult for the Spanish playmakers to do their job.

For their part, the Germans seemed content to defend deep in their own territory again and allow Spain to pass the ball close to the halfway line. Germany’s most likely outlet was the counter attack and they broke a couple of times but found themselves up against an extremely determined Spanish defence. Thomas Muller was missed and Lukas Podolski fell short of the form he has shown so far in South Africa, so Low’s side were not the devastating attacking force on the wings that they were against England and Argentina. A few corners had Spanish nerves tingling but largely because of the imposing German presence and not because there was any evidence of impressive set piece coordination. 

Spain’s biggest weakness goes hand in hand with their greatest strength. With this formation and with the players Del Bosque selected, there is very little natural attacking width in the side. If the coach named Jesus Navas or David Silva in his starting eleven, he would have more options out wide, but that would come at the cost of central midfield domination. As long as Del Bosque's midfielders did their job properly, it made it impossible for Germany to execute their game plan.

Marauding defender Sergio Ramos did get forward from right back to support the attack and this is where Spain could have been vulnerable to a counter attack if Podolski was a bit sharper. Low recognised this potential weakness in the second half and brought on Marcell Jansen to replace Jerome Boateng as a more attacking left back. Jansen immediately went on the offensive and this looked like a good outlet but Spain’s defensive efficaciousness is often underestimated as a result of their attractive attacking style.

Joachim Low was typically gracious in defeat and he was full of praise for Spain after his side’s exit, identifying their circulation of the ball and stifling play as the major cause of Germany’s demise. Tactically, this is Spain in a nutshell. What this observation overlooks, however, is that, man for man, Spain have the best team in the tournament on paper. Low is right to be upbeat; this young German group will come back stronger in two years time at the European Cup. 

We will have a new world champion on Sunday whatever the outcome; neither Holland or Spain have ever won international football’s top prize. Hopefully it will be a thrilling encounter between two daring sides, each completely deserving of their final berth. Technically this is not the best Holland team we have ever seen at a World Cup, but they have been well disciplined and opportunistic. It is certainly the best Spanish side in history and you get the feeling that their time is now.