Netherlands vs Spain Final

Netherlands
The Netherlands are playing in their third World Cup final. They lost the 1974 and 1978 finals, to hosts West Germany and Argentina respectively.
The Dutch are bidding to become only the second team to qualify for the World Cup with a 100% record and win every match at the tournament itself (matching Brazil in 1970).
The Netherlands have won six World Cup matches at a single tournament for the first time. This beats their previous best of five in 1974, when they lost in the final.
Van Marwijk's side are on a 25-match unbeaten streak, a record for the Dutch. Their last defeat was in September 2008 (a 2-1 loss to Australia in Eindhoven).
They have scored 12 goals in South Africa - only Germany have scored more (13).
Wesley Sneijder has scored 7 goals in his last 8 internationals. He was credited with Holland's first goal against Brazil, despite Felipe Melo appearing to get the last touch.

Spain
Spain have lost only two of their last 54 games (to USA and Switzerland). Defeat to the Swiss was a bad omen - no side has ever won the World Cup after losing their opening game.
Italy (1994), Argentina (1990) and West Germany (1982) all reached the final despite beginning their campaign with a loss. Argentina (1978) were the last team to win the tournament despite losing a game in the group stage.
This is the fourth time the reigning European champions have reached a World Cup final. The only side to have lifted Fifa's trophy, West Germany, beat the Dutch in the 1974 final.
The Germans failed to double up against Italy in 1982, while the Azzurri lost to Brazil in 1970 two years after winning Euro '68. France also held both titles concurrently, though they were crowned world champions first (in 1998).
The Spanish are through to their first ever World Cup final. They did reach the final four in 1950 under a different format, when the remaining teams played out a group stage. The Spanish finished bottom, behind winners Uruguay plus Brazil and Sweden.
David Villa is one goal away from equalling Raul's record of 44 goals for Spain. He has already equalled the Spanish record for most goals at a single World Cup (five), set by Emilio Butragueno in 1986.
Spain have completed 3,387 passes at the World Cup, more than any other side. The Netherlands have managed 2,434. Prior to the third-place play-off, Spain had the tournament's top four passers: Xavi (464 completed passes), Busquets (420), Alonso (399) and Pique (378).


Netherlands squad * 01 Stekelenburg * 02 Van Der Wiel * 03 Heitinga * 04 Mathijsen * 05 Van Bronckhorst * 06 Van Bommel * 07 Kuyt * 08 De Jong * 09 Van Persie * 10 Sneijder * 11 Robben * 12 Boulahrouz * 13 Ooijer * 14 De Zeeuw * 15 Braafheid * 16 Vorm * 17 Elia * 18 Schaars * 19 Babel * 20 Afellay * 21 Huntelaar * 22 Boschker * 23 Van der Vaart

Spain squad * 01 Casillas * 02 Albiol * 03 Pique * 04 Marchena * 05 Puyol * 06 Iniesta * 07 Villa * 08 Xavi * 09 Torres * 10 Fabregas * 11 Capdevila * 12 Valdes * 13 Mata * 14 Alonso * 15 Sergio Ramos * 16 Busquets * 17 Arbeloa * 18 Pedrito * 19 Llorente * 20 Javi Martinez * 21 Silva * 22 G Jesus Navas * 23 Reina