Germany-Spain 2010: No Surprises As Spain Books Spot In World Cup Final

Auf Wiedersehen, Germany. World Cup favourites Spain booked a spot in this year's World Cup Final by beating the Germans. In doing so, they made sure that there will be a new winner of the World Cup this year.

Spain 1-0 Germany

Suddenly, I can understand what the fuss is about.

Germany had been on fire, eviscerating England and Argentina and looking unstoppable in the process. Spain stumbled past Portugal and Paraguay with slender 1-0 victories, and everyone yawned and talked about other subjects.

Yet, in this semi-final, the youth and speed of the German counter-attack meant nothing as Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta once again dominated the midfield. The searching runs by Bastian Schweinsteiger were quickly stamped out, and Miroslav Klose was left chanceless all game.

The Germans will probably talk about the suspension of Thomas Muller and how he was missed as Germany's three-pronged attack suddenly looked controllable and, well, ordinary.

If we're honest, Spain weren't tepid tonight. They put all of the work in, passing the ball intricately (sometimes too much so—particularly around the penalty box). But in the end, Brian May lookalike Carles Puyol showed why he's called "Rock God" by the Barcelona faithful. He nodded in a magical header with 15 minutes left—much to the celebration of millions of Spaniards (and millions of others—like this writer—who put a bet on them!).

Now, we can't wait for the final.