Tuesday 6th July 2010 - Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town - Att. 62,479
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
LINEUPS:
Germany (451): Neuer, Lahm, Boateng, Friedrich (Tasci 72'), Mertesacher (Marin 52'), Schweinsteiger, Oezil, Khedira, Klose (Cacau 86'), Podolski, Mueller
Netherlands (451): Stekelenberg, van der Wiel (Ooijer 60'), van Bronckhorst, Heitinga, Mathijsen, de Jong, Sneijder (de Zeeuw 29'), van Bommel, van Persie (Boulahrouz 81'), Huntelaar, Robben
The Netherlands had more reshuffling in their lineup due to suspensions. Nigel de Jong returns after missing the quarterfinals while van der Vaart is unavailable for selection due to his two yellow cards against Brazil. And for once Holland did not have any real problems with discipline but they will still have to alter their lineup with Wesley Sneijder limping off in 29th minute, forcing him out of the final should they beat Germany.
The game was goalless when Demy de Zeeuw came on to replace Sneijder with Holland looking the more dangerous side without threatening Neuer's goal. The German keeper had to be on his toes though when Robin van Persie lost control of the ball on a magnificent run, Neuer scrambling to deflect the ball behind. After the substitution the corner was whipped in where Robben helped it on for de Zeeuw, seconds into his appearance, roofed it for a 1-0 lead.
The Germans looked a little nervous and their one real chance in the first half came very early on when Khedira crossed for Mueller only to see the forward loop his header over the bar. The second half saw Germany start the better side again but also sustained the pressure for longer. Oezil almost chipped a pass through to the strikers after halftime and Giovanni van Bronckhorst had to get his sliding tackle just right with Klose ready to shoot in the penalty area.
After Sami Khedira fluffed a very good chance just before the hour mark it did not look like it would be the Germans day. The Netherlands woke themselves up after this latest scare with de Zeeuw heading another chance straight at Neuer while both sides looked to find another super-sub to come on and perform some magic.
When the magic did come it was not from a fresh face off the bench but the World Cup's top scorer Robin van Persie. A loose ball in the 74th minute was picked up by van Bommel before Klaas Jan Huntelaar neatly found RVP in the goalmouth to head into the top corner. van Persie's sixth goal of the tournament came six minutes later to cement Holland's place in the World Cup final. Huntelaar again was the provider as he pulled the ball back from the goalline for his strike partner to hammer home for 3-0.
Germany did manage to get on the board through Cacau who matched de Zeeuw's feat of running straight from the bench to score on a corner kick, but they would have to settle for the third-place contest.
Germany 1 - 3 Netherlands
Goalscorers:
NED de Zeeuw 28'
NED van Persie 74'
NED van Persie 80'
GER Cacau 86'
Discipline:
NED van der Wiel 17'
GER Podolski 22'
NED van Persie 31'
GER Friedrich 69'
Man of the Match:
NED Robin van Persie
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