Holland will contest its first World Cup final since 1978 after brushing aside the challenge of Uruguay.
The Oranje, which has never won soccer’s top prize, won 3-2 against a battling Uruguay to send the hordes of Orange-clad fans into delirious celebration.
Dutch captain Giovanni van Bronkhorst scored one of the goals of the tournament to give his team the lead on 18 minutes, blasting into the top corner from 35 yards out. Holland then sat back, and the game became lifeless and cagey.
That all changed when Uruguay captain Diego Forlan – surely one of the players of the championship – cut inside from the right on 40 minutes and fired home from 25 yards over Maarten Stekelenburg. The Dutch keeper got a weak hand to the ball, and should have done better.
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The Dutch took the lead again in the 70th minute when Wesley Sneijder shot from just outside the area, and the ball deflected in off a Uruguay defender and, possibly, Oranje striker Robin van Persie, who was just onside.
The match was put beyond doubt three minutes later when Dirk Kuyt placed a lovely cross onto the head of Arjen Robben, one of the smallest men on the pitch, who picked his spot to perfection in the corner of the Uruguay goal.
Holland had more chances, before Uruguay started to throw men forward in the dying minutes. Maxi Pereira curled a shot past Stekelenburg on 90 minutes to give them hope, but time ran out, and the South Americans failed to reach their first final since 1950.
It was far from a classic semi-final, with both teams, especially the Uruguayans, seeming nervous.
The Dutch are capable of fluid football at times, but it was mostly a lacklustre display. They did enough to qualify against a team that can hardly be considered one of the strongest ever to make the semi-finals, but nothing more.
There are a number of weak points in the team. Robin van Persie was largely anonymous upfront, and hardly seemed to get a decent touch. It is a mystery how Mark van Bommel managed to survive without receiving a yellow card until the last minute of stoppage time. He consistently gave away clumsy fouls and was lucky not to be penalised more severely. Stekelenburg’s mistake for Forlan’s goal will also be noted by Holland’s opponents in the final.
Tomorrow will decide who will face the Dutch in the final. A match against Germany would be a rerun of the 1974 final, while if Spain make it through we will be guaranteed a first-time winner of the trophy. Whether Germnay or Spain wins tomorrow, they will look forward to a match against Holland with confidence after this clinical, but uninspiring performance.
