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The Armada

The Future has been written.

A Star Will Be Born...

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Final promises to be quite an occasion, with the Netherlands pitting their wits against reigning European champions Spain. Both sides have produced some good football during their campaigns and have been rewarded with the chance to add their nation's names to the select list of former winners: Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina and France.

The match:
Netherlands-Spain, Final, Soccer City, Sunday 11 July, 20.30 (local time)

As a glance at the head-to-head record between the two nations shows, tipping a winner is no easy task. Both sides have won four of their nine meetings, with the other game ending in a draw. The Oranje have been here before, reaching the Finals at Germany 1974, with Johan Cruyff, and Argentina 1978, without him, and losing to the hosts on both occasions. For Spain, however, this is new territory, although their confidence at rising to the occasion will be high after ending a 44-year trophy drought at UEFA EURO 2008.

The Netherlands' record at South Africa 2010 could hardly be more impressive: six wins in six games with 12 goals scored and five conceded. For their part Vicente del Bosque's men have strung together five wins in a row after kicking off with a surprise defeat. But while the Spaniards have found goals hard to come by, scoring just seven in total, they have been far more miserly in defence, letting in just two so far. The winners will also end an old hoodoo, with no European side having ever won the biggest prize in world football outside the old continent.

World Cup Final Ball & Referee Football Boots

Sunday's epic Finale adidas have gone one stage further and produced the official matchball for the Final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Check out the Jo'Bulani Final football, along with some of the gear English referee Howard Webb will be sporting as he leads the teams out in Johannesburg...
This will be the second installment of a specific World Cup Final football from the official matchball suppliers adidas, who presented the golden TeamGeist Berlin for the last Final in, you've guessed it, Berlin. Adidas have been a FIFA partner for over 40 years, and are still the official supplier to the tournament. So as well as the official match ball, adidas kit out each of the FIFA appointed referees for the World Cup, representing nations from all corners of the globe.

Representing England is Premier League official Howard Webb, who has already one major final under his belt in last season's Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Inter. For the referees and officials in South Africa, adidas have customised their World Cup colourway adiPure III football boots.

These adiPure III's have been worn by all the referees throughout the tournament, and feature three silver stripes as opposed to the official WC colourway's Sun Yellow versions. Also added to the outside of each boot is the inscription "2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa".

The Finale- Nike vs Adidas

The World Cup always throws up the tastiest ties, there’s no secret behind that– but the Final match ups represent an extraordinary turn of luck for the biggest football brands in the world!

Nike Holland Fashion Range

Support the Dutch in the World Cup Final with their current 2010/11 home kit.

Follow the Dutch in their change away strip.

Look the part in the latest Holland Fashion range including the Nike N98 walk out jackets.

the training has been put in you can emulate your Spainish heroes in your Spain training range. Get your heroes name and number on the back of your Spain shirt like- Sneijder, Robben, v.Persie and more.

Futbol Junkie World Cup Hero Series- Sneijder (Holland) Exclusive T-Shirt, used Alstyle Apparel AAA brand imported T-Shirts, front design printed with Torres in Adidas 2010 World Cup Spain Home Jersey. Back design printed- FJ logo and "The 19th Time of Madness" mean this year is the nineteen times of World Cup. Only 30 prints per T-Shirt, i.e. ONLY 30 PIECES IN THE WORLD. *Buy NOW- http://www.futboljunkie.com/node/22

Adidas Spain Fashion Range

Support the Spainish in the World Cup Final with their current 2010/11 home kit.

Follow the Spainish in their change away strip.

Look the part in the Spain Fashion range including the Adidas Originals Spain track top.

All the training has been put in you can emulate your Spainish heroes in your Spain training range. Get your heroes name and number on the back of your Spain shirt like- David Villa, Torres, Fabregas and more.

Futbol Junkie World Cup Hero Series- Torres (Spain) Exclusive T-Shirt, used Alstyle Apparel AAA brand imported T-Shirts, front design printed with Torres in Adidas 2010 World Cup Spain Home Jersey. Back design printed- FJ logo and "The 19th Time of Madness" mean this year is the nineteen times of World Cup. Only 30 prints per T-Shirt, i.e. ONLY 30 PIECES IN THE WORLD. *Buy NOW- http://www.futboljunkie.com/node/15

Fight For Third Spot

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For evidence of just how much the play-off for third place at the FIFA World Cup™ means, you only have to go back to the summer of 2006 and recall the determination with which host nation Germany rounded off their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Portugal in Stuttgart. It was the same for 1990 hosts Italy, who bounced back from the huge disappointment of semi-final defeat to Argentina with a spirit-lifting 2-1 success over England.

And the showdown for the final place on the podium often proves most rewarding for dark horses that have lit up a tournament, such as Sweden at USA 1994, Croatia at France 1998 and Turkey at Korea/Japan 2002. What's more, with the pressure off and coaches’ tactical leashes loosened, these games can result in end-to-end football, chances aplenty and goals galore.

Players to watch
Diego Forlan vs Miroslav Klose

This duo of vastly experienced strikers have four goals apiece so far and will be determined to further their respective Golden Boot hopes by finding the net again at the Port Elizabeth Stadium. The lethal pair both picked up knocks in their sides’ semi-final defeats, however, and may struggle to fire on all cylinders come Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, Germany's Miroslav Klose (14) is chasing not only the Golden Boot, but also a chance to overtake Brazil legend Ronaldo (15) as the World Cup's greatest ever goalscorer if he can overcome a back injury. The Germans may not like their success in this game, but they have picked up three third-place awards already - in 1934, 1970 and 2006 - with Bastian Schweinsteiger's brace making them 'reigning champions' in that respect.

FIFA Golden Ball Nominees Announced

The FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke and adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer today officially announced the 10 nominees for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ adidas Golden Ball. The adidas Golden Ball is the official FIFA trophy for the “Best Player of the Tournament”. The ten nominated players were selected by the FIFA Technical Study Group and includes football experts such as Kalusha Bwalya, Christian Karembeu, Jomo Sono and Gérard Houllier.

Accredited media representatives will vote to determine the winners of the adidas Golden, Silver and Bronze ball awards on FIFA.com. The winners will be announced after the final on 11 July.

adidas Golden Ball past winners:
1982 FIFA World Cup- Spain: Paolo Rossi (Italy)
1986 FIFA World Cup- Mexico: Diego Maradona (Argentina)
1990 FIFA World Cup- Italy: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)
1994 FIFA World Cup- USA: Romario (Brazil)
1998 FIFA World Cup- France: Ronaldo (Brazil
2002 FIFA World Cup- Korea / Japan: Oliver Kahn (Germany)
2006 FIFA World Cup- Germany: Zinedine Zidane (France)

FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG)
The FIFA Technical Study Group is headed up by Jean-Paul Brigger . Further prominent members of the TSG are Christian Karembeu, Humberto Grondona, Gérard Houllier, Holger Osieck, Leodegar Tenga, Gabriel Calderon, Alvin Corneal, Kwok Ka-Ming, Kalusha Bwalya, Ephraim Matsilele ‘Jomo’ Sono and Jim Selby.

The characteristics of the ten best players for the adidas Golden Ball as identified by the FIFA Technical Study Group (in alphabetical order):

David Villa (Spain No.7)
Top scorer; quick, two footed, very good on one-on-one situations, provides good final passes, excellent finisher

Asamoah Gyan (Ghana No.3)
Huge work rate, efficient, good dribbler, creates problems to each defence, good goal scorer

Andres Iniesta (Spain No.6)
Very fine ball-playing attacking midfielder, a star for the team, impressive dribbling ability

Lionel Messi (Argentina No.10)
Outstanding in his pace and creativity for his team, dribbling, shooting, passing – spectacular and efficient
Mesut Oezil (Germany No.8)
A real talent for the present and the future, quick feet and great vision, good final and decisive passes

Arjen Robben (Holland No.11)
Very good pace and dribbling skills, wonderful ability to cut inside from the right, effective to his team
Diego Forlan (Uruguay No.10)
Architect of the team’s attack, very influential, great impact for his team, provider of quality final passes, goal scorer, set pieces/shots from long range

Wesley Sneijder (Holland No.10)
A maestro in midfield, exceptional work rate, the engine of Netherland’s attacks, excellent passer and scorer
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany No.7)
Impressive by his first pass (forward and accurate), very good passer, has moments of individual brilliance, ball-winner

Xavi (Spain No.8)
The metronome and the engine of the Spanish team, very influential in the passing style of the game, one of the finest midfielders in the tournament

Re-match Of The EURO 2008 Final

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While no side has scored more goals in the tournament than Germany’s 13, the statistics show that Spain have done more attacking than anyone. If those two pieces of information are anything to go by, this should be quite a match. The Germans have been nothing short of spectacular in South Africa. After putting four past Australia in the group phase, they clicked into top gear in the Round of 16, overwhelming England 4-1 with their rapid counter-attacking style and then put another four past Argentina in the quarters.

Though Spain have reached a semi-final for the first time ever, they have been unable to match the exacting standards they have set for themselves in recent times, reproducing their eye-catching possession football only sporadically. Victors by a single goal in their last three games, the European champions can justifiably point to some massed defences as the reason for their reduced creativity, but there will be no excuses for a lack of spark come kick-off time on Wednesday.

All the indications are that Vicente del Bosque will keep faith with the XI that started against Paraguay, which means a reprieve for the misfiring Torres, who has yet to score. As for opposite number Low, his most pressing problem is to find a replacement for the suspended Thomas Muller, with Piotr Trochowski, Toni Kroos and Cacau all in the frame.

Players to watch
Miroslav Klose vs David Villa

The leading marksman at South Africa 2010 with five of his country’s six goals, the Spanish striker is just one away from joining Raul as La Roja’s top scorer of all time. No less important to his team than the in-form Villa, Klose is closing on another record. The German forward needs to find the back of the net one more time to draw level with Brazil’s Ronaldo as the leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup finals history with 15 goals. One behind the Spaniard in the South Africa 2010 charts, Klose has not given up hope of making off with the adidas Golden Boot as well.

The Babes of Germany vs Spain

Here’s a look at the soccer babes of today’s epic Germany – Spain 2nd Semi-finals matchup. This includes some who didn’t make the trip but are supporting their teams from their local pubs, sports bars, beaches and fan parks.

No.10 vs No.10

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After the drama and tension of their penalty shoot-out victory over Ghana in the quarter-finals, Uruguay are in the last four at the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 40 years. La Celeste fell 3-1 to eventual winners Brazil at Mexico 1970, and went on to finish fourth. Holland, who staged a remarkable second-half comeback to defeat five-time winners Brazil in the last eight, previously fought through to the semis in 1974, 1978 and 1998.

The teams’ solitary previous meeting at the FIFA World Cup came in the 1974 tournament. Johnny Rep fired a brace as the celebrated Dutch ensemble spearheaded by the great Johan Cruyff won the group stage encounter 2-0. The Uruguay squad that day included defender Pablo Forlan, father of current La Celeste marksman Diego Forlan.

Ahead of Tuesday’s clash, Uruguay boss Oscar Tabarez and Netherlands supremo Bert van Marwijk are both mulling over enforced changes to their winning teams. For the South Americans, Jorge Fucile and Luis Suarez are suspended, and captain Diego Lugano is rated very doubtful with bruising and a stretched knee ligament. Young Nicolas Lodeiro will play no further part in South Africa after breaking a foot. For the Dutch, Van Marwijk is without suspended pair Gregory van der Wiel and Nigel de Jong.

Players to watch

Diego Forlan (Uruguay No.10)

Wesley Sneijder (Holland No.10)

Our two players to watch may not cross paths that often on the field of play, but the spotlight still falls on the respective teams’ leading scorers. Forlan shares top spot in the Celeste goalscoring list with Suarez, but the latter can only watch from the stands after his red card against Ghana. The task of piercing the Dutch defence thus falls fairly and squarely to Forlan, now up to 27 goals for his country, and whose three strikes at the current tournament have all come against African sides.

His Holland counterpart Sneijder also has four goals, and rates as an equally creative orchestrator of the Oranjes’ versatile forward line. The world already knew all about Sneijder’s flawless technique and visionary passing, but his lethal finishing has taken many people by surprise.