The Netherlands Wesley Sneijder is on fire with his energetic play. He shares the events scoring lead with Spain's David Villa with five goals scored. - FIFA photo

The Netherlands Arjen Robben is coming into form at the right time - FIFA photo

SPORTS NOTES EXTRA Part 3 - WILL THE NETHERLANDS'S REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL?

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

In the past the Netherlands had great players that didn't function well in World Cup competition usually being knocked out earlier than expected. In this completion the Dutch seem to have gotten it right. The question is can their offense override Spain's excellent defense?

Sunday July 11, 2010

THE DUTCH CRUTCH OR CRUSH?

After years of frustration of not fulfilling their potential the Netherlands's are finally on the ball in this World Cup. Wesley Sneijder is on fire and is the tournaments co scoring leader with Spain's David Villa each scoring five goals.

The undefeated Netherlands's have shown a sporadic devastating offense scoring 12 goals while surrendering five on their road to the final. Arjen Robben is rounding into form at the right time and can be an offensive threat. Robben is also receiving criticism for diving. The final is no time for theatrics but a time for serious effort and performance.

The Red Fury of Spain is known for their defense having given up only two goals while scoring seven on their road to the final. Fernando Torres is not having a successful World Cup and came off the bench in the 81st minute substituting for David Villa against Germany. That brings into question why can't these two outstanding players function together. If they can they are close to being unbeatable having more offensive options. Thus the outcome of this World Cup will be based on can the Netherlands offense rise to the occasion and explode against Spain's excellent defense.

In addition to their defense five of the top six passers in this World Cup are on Spain. Spain has never been to a World Cup final and this will be the Netherlands third having lost in 1974 to Germany and 1978 to Argentina.

Paul the Octopus who resides in Germany has picked the winners of all the games he has been asked to choose. In this contest he chose Spain to win thus many who are offended by Paul's choice and lack of patriotism are calling for his flesh and want to eat the poor bugger. Should Paul be right again it is likely he will be guarded and under protection.

The Netherlands qualified for the final for the third time with a 3-2 win over Uruguay. Spain reached its first ever final with a 1-0 victory over Germany.

Regardless of the result of the final, this will be the first time ever that two different teams from the same continent have won successive World Cups (Italy won the 2006 tournament). It will also be the first time that a European team has won a tournament held outside Europe.

The 2010 World Cup will also mark:

* The first time European teams have won consecutive World Cups since Italy retained the title in 1938

* The first new winner, and the first new finalist, since France in 1998

* The first new winner without home advantage since Brazil in 1958

* The first final in which neither side has previously won the World Cup since 1978 (Argentina v. Netherlands)

* The first final without Brazil, Italy, Germany or Argentina in it.

Netherlands and Spain are the only teams to have won all their qualification matches for the 2010 World Cup, with the Netherlands also winning all games on their way to the final.

ON GOAL

South African winger Siphiwe Tshabalala was the first player to score a goal in the competition, in their 1-1 draw against Mexico, the opening game of the tournament. Danish defender Daniel Agger was credited with the first own goal of the tournament, in his side's 2-0 loss to the Netherlands. Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuaín was the first player to score a hat-trick in the tournament, in Argentina's 4-1 win over South Korea. It was the 49th World Cup hat-trick in the history of the tournament.

Currently, the top scorers in the tournament are David Villa of Spain, Thomas Müller of Germany and Wesley Sneijder of Netherlands, each have scored five goals. A further four players have scored four goals, two of who remained in the tournament's final four: Miroslav Klose and and Diego Forlán of Uruguay.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Netherlands qualified for the final for the third time with a 3-2 win over Uruguay. Spain reached its first ever final with a 1-0 victory over Germany.

Regardless of the result of the final, this will be the first time ever that two different teams from the same continent have won successive World Cups (Italy won the 2006 tournament). It will also be the first time that a European team has won a tournament held outside Europe.

Vuvuzelas

The 2010 finals have amplified international public awareness of the vuvuzela, a long horn blown by fans throughout matches. Many World Cup competitors have criticized and complained about the noise caused by the vuvuzela horns, including France's Patrice Evra, who blamed the horns for the team's poor performance. Other critics include Lionel Messi, who has complained that the sound of the vuvuzelas hampers communication among players on the pitch, and broadcasting companies, which complained that commentators' voices were being drowned out by the sound.

Others watching on television have complained that the ambient audio feed from the stadium only contains the sounds of the vuvuzelas and the natural sounds of people in the stands are drowned out. A spokesperson for ESPN and other networks said that they were taking steps to minimize the ambient noise on their broadcasts. The BBC also investigated the possibility of offering broadcasts without vuvuzela noise.