Netherlands 14th consecutive victory has granted the Oranje a place in the final. It's 1974 once again, will the dutch be able to rewrite history and lift their first World title?
The first semi final was an open game until the last minute. With a clear presence of both sides in the midfield, Netherlands' individual capabilities turned to be enough to get the Dutch a place in the final. Diego Forlan was once again Uruguay's hero, though this time there will be no Charruas left to sing his gloryA clockwork Orange
Uruguay tried to overwhelm Netherlands with its presence from the left wing, as Alvaro Pereira was the ideal partner for Cachavacha to lead the advance. Maestro Tabarez decided to asphyxiate Arjen Robben with Juventus' Martin Caceres personal mark, and it was working properly in the first minutes. Dirk Kuyt had a clear chance to open the score after an excellent assistance by Wesley Sneijder, but we had to wait another fifteen minutes to see the first goal.
The European squad was becoming more and more confident minute after minute, and it was Sneijder the main responsible of this. On minute 13th he broke free from his mark and shot for the goal, but the ball went straight into Fernando Muslera's hands. Four minutes later Giovanni van Bronckhorst found a ball in the left wing and shot for the goal.. it was a formidable shot, probably within the best of this tournament. The ball went to the upper right angle of Muslera's goal. 1-0 for Netherlands.
The situation changed the way the Uruguayans played, as they knew Netherlands was going to grow stronger after the goal. The Celeste was between a rock and a hard place, as they had to even the score as soon as possible, but going for the offense could weaken their back line. Maximiliano Pereira and Martin Caceres were cautioned in the minutes following the goal, the latter in a rather controversial situation. Uruguay was pressuring the Europeans against their own goal, when Caceres tried to connect a bicycle kick. He didn't see Demy De Zeeuw behind him, and thus he kicked the dutch midfielder right in the face. Wesley Sneijder received a yellow card himself when he attacked Caceres from the back, but the situation wasn't as catastrophic as one would have thought in the beginning. De Zeeuw was replaced by Rafael Van der Vaart at the beginning of the second half.
At the 40th minute of the first half Forlan scored the equalizer, after avoiding his personal mark and shooting unexpectedly against Maarten Stekelenburg's goal. Netherlands' goalkeeper was caught by surprise when moving to the opposite direction. Nevertheless Forlan's left foot shoot from over 25 yards was perfectly placed and thus the first half ended promising a fierce fight in the last 45 minutes.45 minutes away from the seventh match
The second half was electric, with both teams desperate to open a gap from their rivals. Alvaro Pereira was a nightmare for the Dutch defense, as his advance from the left wing gave Edinson Cavani leverage against the European defense, while Forlan was forced to return to his position as a play maker given the compact defense of Netherlands. Pereira had two shots and two clear assistances in the first 15 minutes of the second half, feeding Celeste's followers with something to dream for.
On the 21st minute Mark Van Bommel gifted Forlan a unique opportunity to score with a close free kick. Europa League's top striker shot violently to the bottom left angle, but Ajax's goalkeeper reacted fast and secured the ball. Netherlands' counterattack had the Orange against Muslera's goal with little Uruguayan presence. Van der Vaart shot for the net, but Muslera rejected the ball. Robben caught the ball in the 6-yards box but his shot went high.. Uruguay was breathing again after what could have been the winning goal for their rivals.
Don't cry for me, Uruguay
But Uruguay's destiny appeared to be sealed. Wesley Sneijder lead an advance from the left wing and shot from outside the 12-yard box. The ball changed its course after hitting on an Uruguayan defender and thus there was nothing Muslera could do to avoid Netherlands' second goal. Netherlands' 4-2-3-1 formation was posing a task too hard for the Uruguayans to deal with. The referee missed Robin Van Persie's offside in this goal.
The upper hand gave a huge morale boost to Netherlands' players, and the sheer weight of their main stars was suffocating Celeste's defense. Three minutes after the second goal Kuyt send another high ball to the South American area, and this time Arjen Robben could connect a header impossible for Muslera to stop. In three minutes the Dutch were sealing their destiny, but Uruguay wasn't ready to give up yet.Alvaro Pereira was replaced by Sebastian Abreu. Tabarez wanted his team to be as aggressive as possible to shorten the gap soon. Robben was the Dutch player that could take advantage of this modification sooner than any other, as his speed was unchallenged in the Charrua squad. At the 36th minute he engaged in close combat with Muslera, but Diego Godin appeared out of nowhere to save Uruguay from a fourth goal.
Diego Forlan was replaced by Sebastian Fernandez. Banfield's top striker was playing his first minutes in South Africa and he knew he had to do something to make those minutes count. His ferocity granted Uruguay a free kick in the first minute of additional time. Maxi Pereira was assisted while every player on the field was occupying a place in Netherlands' area. He shot between the packed crowd and the ball, out of Stekelenburg's eye sight, hit the net. But with only two minutes left, Uruguay could not tie the game. Van Bommel was cautioned in the last minute of the game, nobody knows why.
Now the Dutch will have to wait for their rival on Sunday. 25th matches unbeaten, what will happen in South Africa's final game?
