The Full Time Result

So, Spain lived up to expectation and lifted The World Cup, beating the Netherlands in the World Cup Final. In a match that couldn't be settled in normal time, an Iniesta goal put Spain ahead with only a couple of minutes left to play in extra time. 

It was the right result in a game that saw 14 yellow cards and the Dutch reduced to 10 men.  It wasn't a pretty affair but as the second half drew to a close and extra time came in to play, you can't say it wasn't exciting!

The World Cup 2010 has been a mixed bag.  There have been some good games and plenty of drama on and off the pitch. There has been some terrible decisions by the officials and England's disallowed goal prompted me to email Fifa demanding a review of goal line technology.  They never replied but at least they have now said they will look at it again.

There has been controversy with the ball, goalkeepers saying it was unpredictable, ground staff not being paid resulting in a walk out and demonstrations and team hotels and journalists being robbed.  There were even court cases.  The England fan who managed to evade security and get into the England Dressing Room and some Dutch girls who were taken to court because they were promoting a beer that was not officially approved by Fifa.

Then there were the Vuvuzelas.  A plastic trumpet that the South Africans blew throughout most of the games.  At first I didn't mind them as I thought they sounded good in South Africa's opening match but as the tournament went on they became annoying as it killed the atmosphere of the other matches.  Fan's chants were drowned out by the sound. I suppose one saving grace was that a lot of the matches were not sold out and so it cut down on the amount of Vuvuzelas.

On the pitch, the French camp were in disarray and the team never made it past the group stages. Nor did the Italians.  England scraped through finishing second in the group behind the USA, only to be humiliated by Germany, losing 4-1 in the first game of the knock out stages. 

So, a mixed tournament in all.  Spain can now join the other 7 nations who have won the World Cup since 1930 and the TV schedules can return to normal.