World Cup Final - Spain v Holland Betting Preview

Written by James Beckett Thursday, 08 July 2010 10:36

Betting Odds

So after years of speculation we finally know who will compete for the biggest prize of all this Sunday. Pre tournament betting favourites Spain, and the Netherlands are the two teams that will emerge from the tunnel at Soccer City, with the one thing certain, one country will be celebrating winning the World Cup for the first time.

It's fair to say that the Spanish haven't really lived up to expectations so far in South Africa, but they have still reached the final, and this is testament to the amount of quality that Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has at his disposal.


In David Villa they have the tournaments joint leading scorer with five goals, and a player that appears to be playing some of the best football of his career. The new Barcelona signing has mainly been used in a wide role so far in South Africa. But in the semi final Del Bosque opted to leave out Fernando Torres, and include Pedro Rodriguez, a move which allowed Villa to play in his favoured central role, and Villa was always a threat.


It is likely that Del Bosque will deploy a similar tactic against the Dutch, Pedro was exceptional during the win over Germany, and Torres has looked distinctly out of sorts so far in South Africa, something that eventually lead to Del Bosque loosing patience with the Liverpool man.


Elsewhere Spain will probably be unchanged with Xavi and Iniesta sitting just ahead of the defensively minded Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets. This midfield quartet has been key to Spain bouncing back from their opening game defeat to Switzerland, and Holland will have to be at their very best to nullify the real danger that they pose.


In defence Spain have had a very solid tournament conceding just two goals, and Carlos Puyol, the man who scored the winner against Germany, will be looking to end in his Spain career on a high note after saying he may retire from international football following this game.

But while the Spanish will go in to the game as favourites, they will have to be at their best to beat a Dutch side that have been a very effective unit so far in South Africa. While the days of total football may be gone, this is a more pragmatic Dutch side, and the results have proved that coach Dirk Van Marwijk's method is working.


Key to Holland's quest for glory in South Africa has been Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder, who like Villa has five goals to his name. Playing centrally in between wide men Dirk Kuyt and Arjen Robben, just behind the strikers, Sneijder has been able to have a real impact game, and if he plays well the Dutch could well be celebrating their first World Cup title.


Up front Robin Van Persie will be out to add to his solitary goal so far in South Africa. Elsewhere Nigel de Jong and Gregory van der Wiel will both be back from suspension, and could come back in for Demy de Zeeuw and Khalid Boulahrouz respectively. However Rafael van der Vart will be pushing for a start following an effective substitute display against Uruguay.


This is a game which has all the potential to be a real classic, however you do worry that it could turn out to be the sort of game where both sides cancel each other out. Much will come down to who wants to take the risk of losing the game by hunting for victory.


But it's Spain that go in to the game as favourites, and quite rightly so. They are the reigning European Champions, and have picked up momentum throughout the tournament, and you feel that if their big name players perform, they might just have too much quality for the Dutch. But a game against Holland certinaly won't be an easy, especially with so much at stake, and this final could quite easily go either way.

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