Andres Iniesta struck a dramatic winner late in extra time to give Spain World Cup glory for the first time but condemned the Netherlands to their third defeat in a final. Iniesta drilled his left-foot strike across goal - but the Dutch were incensed after referee Howard Webb had failed to award their side a corner moments earlier when a free-kick took a sizeable deflection off Cesc Fabregas. However, Euro 2008 champions Spain, who conceded only two goals during the tournament, deserved their victory after gradually taking a grip on a tense and bad-tempered contest that produced 14 yellow cards with Johnny Heitinga sent off on 109 minutes after picking up a second yellow card. The Dutch, who lost in the 1974 and 1978 finals, were bidding to become the first side since Brazil in 1970 to go through World Cup qualifying and the finals unbeaten. They had a glorious chance to take the lead in the second half but Arjen Robben, comfortably his team's most potent attacking weapon, could find no way past Spain captain Iker Casillas, who slumped to the floor and cried tears of joy after the final whistle. Sergio Ramos was equally culpable of a glaring miss for Spain when he headed over and substitute Fabregas, as with Robben before him, also failed to convert a one-on-one chance. But it was from a through ball by the influential Fabregas that midfielder Iniesta struck making Spain the first team to win a World Cup after losing their opening game of the tournament. Spain also become the team to win to World Cup having scored the fewest number of goals - finding the net eight times in their seven matches. The previous mark was held by three teams including England in 1996. The dramatic finale at Soccer City was in stark contrast to a hugely underwhelming opening 45 minutes, which was a brutal disappointment after the spectacular opening ceremony and moving appearance by former president Nelson Mandela that had preceded it. Spain dominated possession in the opening minutes and looked to have the measure of an uncertain Dutch backline. Ramos almost put them ahead after just four minutes but his thunderous header was brilliantly saved by Maarten Stekelenburg. The Netherlands could not get a grip on the game but were helped by a spate of yellow cards from referee Webb that disturbed the rhythm of the match. Webb booked five players in the opening 28 minutes, although several crude challenges left him with little option. Dutch enforcer Mark van Bommel was booked after going through the back of Iniesta, while Nigel de Jong was lucky to escape red after planting his foot in the chest of Xabi Alonso. Robben did force a decent save from Casillas with a low left-foot strike after cutting inside during stoppage time. But the match had degenerated to the extent that Alonso opted to shoot with a free-kick on the wrong side of 40 yards instead of a seeking out a team-mate. Spain defender Joan Capdevila wasted a good chance shortly after the restart, failing to make contact with a Carles Puyol flick-on. The bookings continued after the break and the contest occasionally threatened to boil over as the tension appeared to affect the players. But there were also a few moments of real quality, none more so than a sumptuous through ball from the largely anonymous Wesley Sneijder that played Robben clean through on goal. Robben delayed his shot but, equally, Casillas stood his ground as long as possible and brilliantly saved with his legs. It was a head-in-hands moment for Robben, but one quickly followed for Spain when a completely unmarked Ramos headed a corner over the crossbar. Robben's pace troubled the Spanish defence throughout and another burst from the Bayern Munich man unsettled Puyol, who appeared to impinge his opponent. Robben, just outside the penalty area, chose to stay on his feet and Casillas again denied him. Spain had moved into the ascendancy as the match wore on, with Xavi increasingly influential. Fabregas replaced Alonso in the 87th minute and quickly made an impression by collecting a superb Iniesta pass, but the Arsenal man could find no way beyond Stekelenberg, who saved brilliantly with his legs. The complement was returned shortly afterwards but Iniesta opted not to strike from 18 yards and was eventually dispossessed by the excellent Gregory van der Wiel. Heitinger became the fifth man to be sent off in a World Cup final when he pulled back Iniesta on the edge of the area, giving Webb little choice but to hand him a second caution, and that seemed to spur Spain on for a final effort. Joris Mathijsen headed over for the Netherlands in what was their only good chance of the extra-time period before Iniesta struck his late and decisive blow. Spain: Casillas, Pique, Puyol, Capdevila, Sergio Ramos, Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso (Fabregas, 87), Busquets, Villa (Torres, 105), Pedrito (Jesus Navas, 60) Nederlands: Stekelenburg, Van Der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst (Braafheid, 105), Van Bommel, De Jong (Van der Vaart, 99), Sneijder, Kuyt (Elia, 70), Van Persie, Robben

Spain win World Cup 2010

Spain boss Vicente del Bosque urged his players to go on and win the World Cup final after their 1-0 semi-final victory against Germany. Carles Puyol's second-half header put Spain in the final for the first time and Del Bosque is already focused on beating Netherlands on Sunday. He said: "Our players carried out their job in a magnificent way. "But let's think about the game in front of us. We're in good shape physically - let's try to win." Puyol's 73rd-minute winner, when he powered home an unstoppable header from Xavi's pin-point corner, made the result a repeat of the Euro 2008 final between the two sides. And it means that a new name will adorn the World Cup trophy come Sunday, as the Dutch were beaten finalists in both 1974 and 1978. The victory for Spain, who have never faced the Netherlands in a major tournament, was just reward for arguably their best performance of the tournament so far, one which saw them control possession for large periods and restrict Germany - who had been prolific in attack in the lead up to the last-four clash - to only a handful of half-chances. In the end, Spain had 13 attempts to Germany's five, and Del Bosque said: "From defence through to attack I think we played a great game." Spanish striker David Villa, who is joint top scorer in South Africa with five goals, said the team wanted to make the most of their opportunity in the final, having grabbed their first semi-final appearance with both hands.

Del Bosque eyes World Cup triumph

etherlands coach Bert van Marwijk could barely hide his delight after his side beat Uruguay 3-2 to reach their first World Cup final since 1978. Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben each scored to earn a clash with Spain or Germany. Van Marwijk said: "This is very special. After 32 years we play the final again. Such a small country can be so very proud." The Dutch boss added he does not mind who his side face in Sunday's final. "I think Spain are playing the best football overall but Germany are perhaps the best team at this championship," continued Van Marwijk, who took over as Netherlands coach in 2008 and has now led the side on a 14-match winning streak. "I won't say I prefer to play one team or another but it would be unique to play Germany after 1974 [when Germany beat the Netherlands in the final]. "I don't think in terms of revenge. The Netherlands played a wonderful match against Germany but we lost and we should have won it. It was a unique generation with Johan Cruyff, the best footballer who ever existed. So it is great that we have ended up in the final again...

Van Marwijk so proud of Dutch

Brazil's Elano has been ruled out of the World Cup quarter-final against Netherlands with an ankle injury and could miss the rest of the tournament. Elano, 29, was hurt during his side's group-stage win over Ivory Coast and limped out of training on Tuesday. Brazil's team doctor Jose Luiz Runco said: "The bone is swollen inside. "He has been undergoing treatment which can take a few days, weeks or a month, there is no timetable. Each day we will make an evaluation." Elano scored in Brazil's opening two World Cup games before being on the receiving end of a crunching tackle from Ivory Coast defender Cheik Tiote in the final group match. The former Manchester City player is angry that Tiote's challenge went unpunished. "I told the referee that he didn't even give a free-kick for a tackle which could have broken my leg," said Elano. "The same player then committed another heavy foul on Robinho for which he should have been sent off. "They have to have another look at this type of violence, because the people who are losing out are the ones who get injured...

Injury sidelines Brazil ace Elano

Nigeria's president has suspended his nation's football team from international competition for two years after a poor showing at the World Cup. Special presidential adviser Ima Niboro told reporters the decision by Goodluck Jonathan will "enable Nigeria to reorganise its football". The Nigerian Football Federation is to be dissolved and an interim board appointed, the BBC understands. Nigeria were knocked out in the group stages without winning a game. Niboro said: "President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that Nigeria withdraws from international competition for two years to enable the country to put its house in order. "This directive became necessary following Nigeria's poor performance in the ongoing World Cup." The president also plans an audit of the country's World Cup organising committee. "If any financial misappropriation is discovered, all officials responsible will be held accountable," Niboro added. The NFF released a statement apologising to "all football-loving Nigerians" for the country's early exit from South Africa. "No previous board has qualified Nigeria for all major tournaments internationally," the statement read, adding that officials wanted Swedish coach Lars Lagerbeck to remain at the helm. Rotimi Amaechi, head of a special presidential task force on the World Cup campaign, said Nigeria would write to football's world governing body Fifa to explain its decision. "We went to the World Cup and found all sorts of problems and we felt we should sit back and look inward," Amaechi told reporters. Under Fifa rules, government interference with national teams is strictly forbidden. "At the time of writing, we have no official information on this matter," a Fifa statement read.

Nigeria president suspends team

Striker Luis Suarez scored a spectacular winner to earn Uruguay a place in the World Cup quarters-finals at the expense of South Korea. It will be the first time since 1970 the two-time winners have reached the last eight, although they will feel fortunate to have ended their barren run having spent long periods of the game defending at the rain-drenched Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The South Koreans, who reached the semi-finals in 2002, were effervescent in their attacking third but flaky in defence, and that was exposed as early as the eighth minute. Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan was fed on the left and played a low ball across the six-yard area which was misjudged by keeper Jung Sung-Ryong and his statuesque defence but not by Suarez at the far post, who calmly slotted in for his second goal of the competition. But apart from a penalty appeal when Alvaro Pereira's shot appeared to be blocked by the arm of Ki Sung-Yueng, it was the South Koreans who looked most likely to score for the remainder of the match as Uruguay set up camp in their own half. Many of South Korea's good chances fell to star striker Park Chu-Young who was feverishly looking to add to his goal against Nigeria in the group stages. And it could have been Uruguay chasing the game as early as the fifth minute had his free-kick curled three inches to the left rather than rattle Fernando Muslera's right-hand post. The Monaco forward also went close with a fizzing 25-yard effort that swerved two yards wide before smashing a half-volley over the bar from inside the area after the break, when he should have made the Uruguay number one at least flinch. But the South Koreans' luck finally changed for the better on 68 minutes when, from a free-kick, Bolton's Lee Chung-Yong pounced on Mauricio Victorino's attempted headed clearance, to nod in from eight yards. It was the first goal Uruguay had conceded in the tournament and they came close to conceding a second when Lee Chung-Yong failed to put any venom into his shot inside the area after he was beautifully played in by captain Park Ji-Sung. With the rain now teeming down inside the Port Elizabeth venue, it appeared that a mistake rather than a piece of skill would win the game - but the quality of 23-year-old Suarez ensured that the match would be remembered for something out of the top drawer. With 10 minutes remaining, the potent Ajax forward lurked on the fringes of the 18-yard area as a corner was swung in from the right. He cut in from the left before curling in as sweet-a-strike as any in the tournament so far to leave keeper Jung Sung-Ryong rooted as the ball clipped the post on its way in. The South Koreans pressed and should have taken the game into extra-time, but substitute Lee Dong-Gook's weak shot squirmed under the wet jersey of Muslera before it was comfortably cleared. Uruguay will now play the winners of the match between Ghana and the United States in the last eight.

Suarez puts Uruguay into quarters

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo ended his two-year wait for an international goal as his side ripped North Korea apart to secure their first win of this World Cup in style. The two sides were only separated by Raul Meireles' goal at half-time, but Portugal produced a scintillating attacking display after the break to score six goals and spark their tournament into life, while ending North Korea's hopes of progressing. Simao, Hugo Almeida and Tiago found the net in the space of seven minutes to end any hopes of a North Korean comeback, before Liedson, Ronaldo and a second from Tiago completed a similar quick-fire salvo at the end of the game. This was a re-run of one of the most famous matches in World Cup history, 44 years on from the memorable day when North Korea led 3-0 before being overhauled by a four-goal Eusebio blast. Despite a lively start by North Korea, Portugal did not have to mount any sort of comeback to win this time, but they will savour the victory just the same, especially as their much-improved goal difference makes them favourites to follow Brazil in qualifying from Group G. With Brazil to play in their final group game, Carlos Queiroz's side badly needed all three points and, from the start, they came forward with far more intent than during their opening draw with Ivory Coast. Ricardo Carvalho came closest to making an early breakthrough when Korean goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk got nowhere near a corner and the Portugal defender headed against the frame of the unguarded goal. But North Korea were also looking far more adventurous than they had in their first match and, while they were a lot less secure at the back, they gave Portugal a few scares at the other end too. Cha Jong-Hyok saw his powerful shot swerve wide after a neat build-up, while Mun In-Guk headed the follow-up over after Eduardo parried Hong Yong-Jo's cross-shot from the right. To their credit, Portugal kept their composure and although at this stage Ronaldo was only an occasional menace down the left flank rather than the unstoppable force he would later become, they continued to look the more dangerous side, especially on the break. Their first goal, when it arrived after 29 minutes, was one of beauty - with Tiago slipping a precise through ball into the path of Meireles, who tucked a low shot past Ri Myong-Guk. While North Korea did not crumble instantly, their defensive disorganisation meant they were lucky not to concede further goals before the break, only to completely collapse after it. Simao opened the floodgates when he finished off a neat move between Meireles and Hugo Almeida, and Almeida quickly made it 3-0 when he headed home Fabio Coentrao's cross. By now Ronaldo had woken up too, and he set up Tiago to slot home his first goal from the edge of the area before almost making number five with a perfectly weighted cross that Almeida could not quite convert. The £80m Real Madrid winger seemed determined to get on the scoresheet himself and smashed a rasping shot against the bar before Liedson did make it 5-0 with a thumping finish after Ri Kwang-Chon's mistake. Then came the moment most of the Portuguese fans in Cape Town had been waiting for, when Ronaldo capitalised on a defensive mistake, skipped past Ri Myong-Guk and, after bringing the ball down using his neck, turned it home. Tiago's late header from Miguel Veloso's cross added a seventh goal and gave the final score an even more emphatic appearance, and one that reflected Portugal's total dominance. Portugal will top the group by beating Brazil and even if they were to lose and Ivory Coast win it is likely Queiroz's side would go through, owing to a much better goal difference.

Portugal hammer seven past N Korea