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Will Joan Capdevilla be able to keep Arjen Robben in check? Will Stekelenburg be able to do what only Switzerland and Germany managed and stop David Villa from scoring? Richard Aikman looks at four battles within the battle...
"As the playmaker, and virtually the only creative player in the side bar Robben, Sneijder is the focal point, inspiring the Oranje in the same way he inspired Inter Milan to the treble last season. His outstanding vision and eye for goal have made been the determining factor in this Dutch success story."
Despite their great footballing pedigree, the Netherlands and Spain have yet to meet in major competition, and on the nine times they have gone toe to toe, there is nothing to choose between them, with their head-to-heads reporting four wins apiece and a draw. The European Champions are the favourites at 2.18 to win in 90 minutes, but they have already been beaten this tournament, by Switzerland, while the Oranje have now gone 25 matches unbowed. They're 3.85 to win in regular time. Spain are 1.61 to win the World Cup with the Netherlands 2.62.
To get an idea of where this match will be won and lost here are the key battles that will go a long way to deciding the World Cup final.
Stekelenburg v Villa
Maarten Stekelenburg has done plenty to answer those who feared Edwin van der Sar's gloves would be too large to fill by making 16 saves so far this tournament. He is not guarded by the best defence in the world and performed fine displays against Slovakia and Brazil even though he should have done better with Diego Forlan's equaliser for Uruguay. But, assuming the hip injury he picked up in that semi-final doesn't keep him out of the match of his life, the Ajax man will struggle to keep a clean sheet (3.55) here.
Apart from the threat posed by a lethal midfield, David Villa's five goals this tournament reflect his current status as the best striker in the world. Had he not missed a penalty against Chile, the Spaniard would have bagged a hat-trick against Chile, and be even shorter than 2.72 to win the Golden Shoe. Barcelona's new signing will also not need to look twice at the video of Robinho's goal against Holland, where the Brazilian cut in from the left, raced onto a throughball and beat Stekelenburg with ease. Villa delights in cutting in from the left and is priced at 5.3 to repeat what as he has done three times in the last four matches, and score first.
Sneijder v Xavi
Though ostensibly a midfielder, Wesley Sneijder has scored as many goals as Villa, which makes him a tempting bet in the Top Goalscorer market at 4.2. As the playmaker, and virtually the only creative player in the side bar Robben, Sneijder is the focal point, inspiring the Oranje in the same way he inspired Inter Milan to the treble last season. His outstanding vision and eye for goal have made been the determining factor in this Dutch success story.
A huge influence on t his extraordinary Spain side, Xavi, alongside Andreas Iniesta, has forged probably the best midfield partnership in world football. Xavi does not score many, but he sets the tempo of la Furia Roja's extraordinary 'ticcy-taccy' passing style. He has completed 464 passes this campaign, compared to Sneijder's 230 and is the heartbeat of the side. Conversely, he is probably not as important to Spain as Sneijder is to Holland, because the European Champions have so many midfield artists. Cesc Fabregas, for one, can't even get a start.
Robben v Joan Capdevila
Arjen Robben was eased into this tournament due to injury but has grown in influence on Holland's campaign. His pace petrifies defenders and he regularly showed how deadly he can be when cutting in from the right in the Champions League last season. The Bayern winger, who has scored twice in South Africa and is 4.2 to add a third, is also an expert at drawing fouls - and in Felipe Melo's case, red cards - and winning set-pieces from which Sneijder and Robin van Persie can threaten.
If Howard Webb takes a dim view of his diving, Robben may well pick up a card, which he is 5.1 to do. Either way, Joan Capdevila will have his work cut out to contain the fleet-footed winger and will most likely be told to resist making those forward runs down the flank. The left-back has only made five fouls this tournament but how else do you stop Robben? Capdevila is 4.2 to get his name in the book.
Van Bommel v Alonso
When it comes to the dark arts there can be no finer exponent than Mark van Bommel, who is a superb shield for an otherwise ordinary defence, but seemingly immune to sanction for his relentless fouling. He was booked in the last match, but his card was long overdue. He appears to get the referees onside by talking to them throughout matches, but whether Webb falls for his smoothtalk remains to be seen. Van Bommel is 2.4 to pick up a yellow. Webb is 3.9 to brandish a red.
Alonso is no saint either. He has only committed three fouls less than Van Bommel in the tournament, but has more license to invest his energies at the other end of the field as Sergio Busquets is happy to dig in with the dirty work. Indeed, with Germany marking Villa out of the game in the semi-final, Alonso was Spain's principal goal threat, firing three shots in on goal from the edge of the area. The Real Madrid midfieder has a fantastic shot and at 8.4 is a superb bet to score at any time.
Jonathan Wilson is full of praise for Spain, who were more than worthy winners of a good World Cup. Here, in a 4-2-1-3 which the winners used to such devastating effect, is his team of the tournament.
"As a winner, I would suggest, Spain are as good as any since West Germany in 1990, even if they didn't necessarily show their best form in South Africa.
They are a truly great side who have dominated the world game for three years, maybe a touch longer and, just as importantly, have consistently played proactive football."
So as a good, but not great, World Cup comes to an end, and great lines of journalists join the VAT-reclaim queue at OR Tambo International, it's time to reflect. As a winner, I would suggest, Spain are as good as any since West Germany in 1990, even if they didn't necessarily show their best form in South Africa.
They are a truly great side who have dominated the world game for three years, maybe a touch longer and, just as importantly, have consistently played proactive football. For the world game as a whole, meanwhile, there must be concern that we are slinking back into reactivity after a relatively open decade: the success of Internazionale and the fact that three out of four semi-finalists were essentially counter-attacking teams returns us to the position we were in back in 2004 after the successes of Mourinho's Porto and Rehagel's Greece. Then, attacking football still triumphed; who knows what may happen with Mourinho at Real Madrid.
Before we start contemplating what's to come, though, let's wrap up these diary entries with my team of the tournament. The formation is 4-2-1-3, essentially system used by Spain and a close cousin of the 4-2-3-1s that came to dominate the tournament, and the team and squad has been picked as realistically as possible - that is, it's not just
stuffed , as so many of these teams are, with attacking players.
Goalkeeper was arguably the hardest position with players much easier to rule out than to rule in. In the end the selection went with the three keepers who got the furthest without making an obvious howler, with Eduardo just getting the nod for a handful of excellent saves against Spain.
It has not been a tournament of great attacking full-backs, and to an extent the choice came down to the players who achieved the best balance of pushing on without leaving their winger unmarked (the general switch from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1 having pushed wingers forward onto the full-back). The two Spanish full-backs, Sergio Ramos and Joan
Capdevila, can perhaps think themselves a little unlucky to miss out, but Phillip Lahm's superior defending and the job Jorge Fucile did on Giovani dos Santos got them the nods, with the more attacking options of Maicon and Carlos Salcido in reserve.
Lucio has transformed himself into a splendidly unpleasant centre-back, probably the best stopper centre-back in the world, and he maintained that form in South Africa. He's partnered by Gerard Pique, who remains the best ball-paying centre-back around, with Ryan Nelsen, magnificent in all three of New Zealand's games as a blocker
and organiser making the squad alongside Carles Puyol.
There were countless possibilities for the holding midfield slot, for this has been the tournament of the midfield anchor. Nigel De Jong and Victor Caceres came close, but Bastian Schweinsteiger, for his energy and Xabi Alonso for his passing got in, with Mark van Bommel and Javier Mascherano on the bench. Xavi, the best playmaker of the past decade, edges out Wesley Sneijder to complete the midfield triangle.
On the right, Arjen Robben has been the Netherlands's brightest creates spark, so pushes Lionel messi to the bench; David Villa gets in for his inventiveness and finishing, with the muscular option of Asamoah Gyan in reserve; while Diego Forlan, both creator and finisher in this tournament, starts in a loose left-sided role, Carlos Tevez taking the final squad berth as a versatile cover-all option up front.
Eduardo (POR); Phillip Lahm (GER), Lucio (BRA), Gerard Pique (SPA),
Jorge Fucile (URU); Bastian Schweinsteiger (GER), Xabi Alonso (SPA);
Xavi (SPA); Arjen Robben (NED), Diego Forlan (URU), David Villa (SPA)
