Faced with a perhaps easier task, the Dutch did not disappoint, handling a remarkably resilient Uruguay 3-2 thanks to a great goal by van Bronckhorst to open the scoring, and fine work from Kuyt, Sneijder and Robben. Their victory is mildly tainted, as again, a blown call resulted in a goal for the Dutch that should not have stood. Sneijder’s second changed the game, but it came when van Persie was clearly offside and active in the play. Linesman Bakhadyr Kuchkarov had a terrible night, and this call would come back to haunt the South Americans. But for the Dutch, it was sweet.

--Jamie Trecker

Spain utterly dominated a German side many had tipped to avenge its loss in the 2008 European final. Controlling the speed and the tenor of the match from the outset, Spain was consistently dangerous against a young German team absent the very influential Thomas Mueller. Carles Puyol scored the winner in the 73rd minute off a corner from Xavi to set up the meeting with the Dutch.

The Dutch pulled off one of the big upsets of the World Cup when they rebounded from a dreadful first half to send five-time World Cup winner Brazil packing 2-1 in a game of two halves. In the first 45, Brazil rolled, getting on top in the 10th minute through Robinho. But the second half saw Brazil collapse. Inexplicably playing a foul-happy game, Brazil was far too concerned about Robben’s pace, and began making bad mistakes. Felipe Melo went from hero to goat, scoring an own goal (later credited to Sneijder, who had played the cross in) that allowed the Dutch to draw level, then failing to mark Sneijder (pictured) on the winning header; then grinding his cleats into Robben and being sent off. It was a game that will rank with not only past great Holland-Brazil clashes, but all-time great World Cup games in general.

Spain followed its Round 2 performance up with a less-than-convincing win over an alarmingly negative Paraguayan side that seemed determined to play for penalty kicks. Fans across the world were rescued when Villa nailed the winner in the 83rd in a game that will be better remembered for the three penalty kicks demanded by ref Carlos Batres. Only one goal resulted from the attempts — and it was waved off. Spain looked happy to put this one behind it, and it surely won’t occupy much space on any highlight reels.

The Dutch handled Slovakia 2-1 with ease, with Robben scoring a fabulous goal in the 18th minute to set the game’s tone. Beating three men and leaving Jan Durica for dead, the Dutch winger slammed what should have been the winner home before keeper Jan Mucha could even get to ground. But the Dutch actually needed a goal from Sneijder in the 84th to ice the game; that came when the Slovaks were caught arguing after committing a foul; Giovanni van Bronckhorst chipped it quickly up to Dirk Kuyt, who unselfishly fed Sneijder. Ref Alberto Undiano gave Slovakia a late penalty kick that Robert Vittek converted, just one of the many blown calls of the tournament.

Against a very compelling Portuguese team, Spain closed down the passing lanes, made star Cristiano Ronaldo disappear and finally battered its way through to hit the back of Eduardo’s net thanks to David Villa (pictured) just past the hour mark. It was a great 1-0 win that showcased every attribute Spain brings to the sport as well as the real quality of a Portuguese side that ran into the wrong team at the wrong time. The winner was brilliant: Iniesta worked the ball through a forest of defenders, then set it left to Xavi. Xavi back-heeled the ball to Villa, who had his first shot stopped by Eduardo but was able to collect his own rebound to bounce it off the underside of crossbar and into the back of the net.

Holland arrived in South Africa with a big problem: Arjen Robben almost didn’t make the trip after injuring his hamstring in a warm-up against Hungary. To buy time, Bert van Marwijk had his charges playing smart, efficient football that wasn’t fun to watch, but ran down the clock while Robben regained fitness.

First, a clinical and cold-looking Dutch side came away from its opener at Soccer City with a 2-0 win over Denmark thanks to an own goal from Danish defender Simon Poulsen and a late tap-in by Dirk Kuyt. Next, Holland edged Japan, 1-0, thanks to Wesley Sneijder’s goal, a well-taken shot that was mishandled by keeper Eiji Kawashima. Finally, the Dutch polished off an already eliminated Cameroon, 2-1, on goals from van Persie (pictured) and Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Robben played an 18-minute cameo in that finale.
 

Spain got off to a wretched start, losing only its second game in 50 matches to an unlikely Switzerland side. The Swiss had never beaten Spain in 18 previous attempts and won out, 1-0, on a broken play that Gelson Fernandes managed to convert for the Swiss. The result shocked Spain out of its complacency, and it would rebound for a World Cup first: No team had ever won its group after losing its opening game. But, with a big, 2-0 win over Honduras, followed by a nail-biting, 2-1 triumph over Chile, Spain was through on top of Group H.

The Dutch roared through qualifying, going 8-0 in a group with Norway and Scotland. The only other team in UEFA qualifying to win every game? That would be fellow World Cup finalists Spain, who actually exceed Holland’s total because they were in a larger group, and had to win 10 games. The Dutch were the first side through to South Africa from Europe, clinching their berth all the way back in June of 2009 with a 2-1 win over tiny Iceland. Fittingly, the key man in that game was van Bommel.

Spain won every single game in qualifying, a feat equaled only by the Netherlands, clinching its berth in September 2009 with a 3-0 win over Estonia. Led by David Villa (pictured), Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and Xavi, Spain blew through all comers with a relentless, possession-oriented attack.

The Netherlands came into this World Cup cycle as a team on the brink. Holland seemed to be a team unable to escape a cycle of ego-driven conflicts, begun anew when Mark van Bommel had a falling out with then-manager Marco van Basten, resulting in the influential Bayern Munich midfielder walking away from the squad. Then came an infamous training ground incident involving the team’s top two young stars, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder. The result: a humiliating 3-1 loss to Russia in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals and the combustion of the team following a strong group stage. Bert van Marwijk (pictured) was hired to pick up the pieces; one of the first things he did was bring back van Bommel; the second was to work to instill a culture of belief in a team that had begun to doubt it could overcome its own history.

Spain finally exorcised a history of caving under pressure. At the 2006 World Cup, the Spaniards had been sent packing by France in the knockout round and hadn’t won a major senior title since 1964. (Their Olympic victory on home soil in 1992 was with a U-23 team.). Like Holland, they wear the dubious honor of being the best team never to have won a World Cup with unease, but they were determined to finally make good on the squad’s promise.

In February 2007, Spain began a remarkable 35-match unbeaten streak, cementing its reputation as the best team in Europe. That ended in a shocking upset at the hands of the United States in the 2009 Confederations Cup. During that run, Spain won its second European championship — and first since 1964 — beating Germany in the final, 1-0, thanks to Fernando Torres. Vincente del Bosque took over from Luis Aragones following that title, and the team hasn’t skipped a beat.

The journey started a little under three years ago with 204 nations dreaming of a spot in the World Cup final, but after over 800 qualifying matches and 62 games in South Africa, the final is set between Spain and the Netherlands.

But how did each team get here? Jamie Trecker relives the path both followed.