We started with some 197 countries and are now down to the last two. Spain and the Netherlands will fight it out for a place in sporting immortality. Both sides are footballing nations with a massive legacy and tradition, and both will be deserved winners.

For the Netherlands this is the first time they are in a World Cup final and don’t have to play the hosts. For Spain, they started slow but are now playing perfect tournament football. A 1-0 win is good as 7-0 and they had three of them on their way to the final.

You don’t reach a World Cup final unless your team is playing as well as it possibly can and you can say that about both sides. But which of these is going to be the last one standing? Unless you are Paul the Octopus it is hard to know with any certainty.

Whether it is David Villa or Arjen Robben, Carlos Puyol or Wesley Sneijder both sides are filled to the brim with world class superstars.
Sneijder and Villa both have five goals and another one would make them the leading scorer of the World Cup. Otherwise they will have to share the award with Diego Forlan and Thomas Mueller.

From a fantasy football point of view, this tournament will be remembered more for those who didn’t fire than for those who did. Wayne Rooney, Kaka, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo weren’t worth the hype. As opposed to Diego Forlan who could just about stroll into any club in the world and they would welcome him with open arms.

Forlan would be in the team of the tournament which will most likely is going to be filled exclusively by Dutch, Spanish, German and Uruguayan players.

Again it has been a truly memorable World Cup. Hopefully the final will live up to the great football we witnesses during the rest of the tournament. A final such as this would be nice: