Germany's World Cup Dream Ended by Determined Spain

So in the end the octopus was right. Paul, arguably the most popular sea creature on the planet right now, correctly predicted a Spanish victory in Durban on Wednesday
After he correctly foresaw every one of Germany's results in South Africa, it would have been foolish to go against him.

It was a case of here we go again for Vicente Del Bosque's men. Their third consecutive 1-0 knock out win saw them through to their first ever World Cup final and the chance to add the world title to the European crown they won two years ago. The World Cup 2010 betting made La Roja pre-tournament favourites, and they look like they're going to justify that tag.

The game was a typical, tense semi-final. Germany were coiled in their half like a mouse trap, waiting to spring forward on the break and expose the gaps behind any marauding Spanish full backs.

Spain are no England or Argentina though. After seeing the German's destruction of the aforementioned duo in the previous rounds they refused to fall for Germany's bait, content to keep possession and calmly wait for the opportunities to arrive.

This didn't always make for a thrilling contest, though despite stalemate for much of the match it was fascinating to watch the sides feel each other out, like two sides in a game of chess. The football betting odds may have suggested goals, but Spain weren't going to be sucker punched by Germany.

In the end I think the Spanish deserved their victory as they created more chances throughout the 90 minutes. The Germans did make opportunities of their own and will rightly point to two decent penalty shouts but, unlike in previous rounds where everything they hit seemed to turn to goals, their ruthless efficiency was not to be found on this night.

They are a young team though and were perhaps not expected to go this far. Add four years' experience on top of this raw, precocious talent and they will be a force to be reckoned with at World Cup 2014.

But the day belonged to Spain, who will battle it out with Holland on Sunday to become the eighth country to win the World Cup. It is a game too close to call.
I'd best leave the predictions to the octopus.