Spain 1 : 0 Netherlands

• Spain: Played great overall, and created numerous chances, eventually being rewarded with the winner. The defense was a little shaky though, allowing Robben to break through a few times, but Casillas was there to make up for it. Andrés Iniesta was particularly impressive, providing great passes throughout the game, and then having the concentration to put away the game-winner.  David Villa played well, threatening to break through a few times, but didn’t really have many clear opportunities to use in the game. Going forward, Spain will justifiably be considered the favorites in any tournament they enter, and although stars such as Puyol (32) and Xavi (30) are aging, they have plenty of replacements (Fàbregas, Albiol, Martínez) to use in the future.

• Netherlands: Played solid as well, but just couldn’t put away their chances and paid for it in the end. Defensively they have improved, reading a lot of Spanish attacks well, but still had a few lapses (giving Ramos an open header). As a team, the Dutch fouled too much, collecting 9 yellow cards (with one also being a second yellow for Heitinga), and although some of those calls can be argued against, the Netherlands were lucky not to receive a red card early on for de Jong’s kick to the chest of Xabi Alonso, so they can’t really complain.  Arjen Robben had a decent game with 2 chances, — including a complete one-on-one against Casillas — which he just couldn’t put away. Sneijder was a little bit disappointing, aside from a few good passes to Robben, he was nowhere to be seen. Going forward, the Dutch will have the core of their team in Sneijder (26) and Robben (26) for years, and with exciting new talent coming up (Castaignos, Wijnaldum), they should stay competitive in the future.