spain v holland betting

Spain v Netherlands Betting Odds

Spain to win: 11/10 at Bet365
Draw: 5/2 at Bwin
Netherlands to win: 3/1 at Victor Chandler

To Lift the Trophy
Spain: 4/7 at BetFred
Netherlands: 13/8 at Coral

Spain will go into the 2010 FIFA World Cup final without any worries over injury. Not that coach Vicente Del Bosque is one to change up the side very much, and his only decision remains as to whether to insert Fernando Torres back into the starting eleven. Torres, whose club future is under a great deal of speculation after being linked with Chelsea, was left out of the semi final against Germany, due to his lack of form. The Liverpool striker had an injury troubled season, and had to undergo two knee surgeries before South Africa 2010. Del Bosque had persevered with the striker, giving him plenty of time to play his way into form, but dropped Torres for Barcelona striker Pedro. Pedro was lively and injected extra pace where Torres has been wasteful with chances and in possession. It is expected that Torres will get the start, simply because of his experience, and Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas is reportedly fully fit after being injured during training, but he was not used in the semi final. Spain will again look to David Villa for their goals, as he has scored 5 of their 7 goals in the tournament, or 71% of their goals if you want a look at it that way.

For Holland coach Bert van Marwijk, there could be a couple of changes from the semi final. Van Marwijk was without preferred holding midfielder Nigel de Jong and full back Gregory van der Wiel for their semi final win over Uruguay, because of suspensions. They will both probably come straight back into the side in replace of Demy De Zeeuw Khalid Boulahrouz respectively. De Zeeuw’s chin met with the boot of a Uruguay player in the semi final, and after concerns that his jaw had been broken, it was discovered that there was no break, but his teeth were damaged. His inclusion is doubtful, especially with De Jong coming back into being available. Key man for Holland Wesley Sneijder reported a problem with his calf, but both he and goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg have both been pronounced fit to go on Sunday. Apart from that, Holland should be able to field their strongest starting eleven, and will hope that they will be able to dig deep and take their chances against the Spanish, in the World Cup Final. The Netherlands have scored 12 goals in the tournament, with goals coming from six different players. It would be something for Dutch defender Andrew Ooijer if he gets onto the pitch, as he celebrates his birthday on July 11.

2010 FIFA World Cup Final Facts
One of the sides will be the eighth nation to win the World Cup, the Final of which is being played at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. It will also be the first time that a European nation has won the trophy outside of their own continent.  The Stadium as at the heart of South African football, and it has hosted some famous events in its relatively short history. Kick off is at 19.30 GMT. One person who may finish off Sunday with a whole feast of awards for the season, could be Wesley Sneijder, the Inter Milan player won the Coppa Italia, the Champions League and the Serie A title with his club, and he is also in line for both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball awards. His performance at the World Cup Final could determine the outcome of those awards, and if he adds the greatest accolade in football by winning the World Cup, it would be some 2010 for him. If Spain are looking at superstitions, then no team has won the World Cup after losing their opening match. This is the fourth time that a team has been in the World Cup final after losing their opening match, but the three previous attempts, by Germany (’82), Argentina (’90) and Italy (‘94) each fell in the Final after opening their campaigns with a loss. Spain and the Netherlands have never met at the World Cup, nor the European Championships.
 

By Betting Stats or Octopus – Spain look strong favourites

Spain v Holland World Cup Final Betting
Spain to win: 6/5 at William Hill
Draw: 12/5 at Totesport
Netherlands to win: 11/4 at Bet365

This is one which the Netherlands may be happy enough to win ugly, as winger Arjen Robben says. It is true, against the Spaniards, that may be the only way. What Spain do so well, is keep the ball, and with being able to control all of that possession, the opposition simply cannot get enough of the ball to hurt them. The ball retention is better than any other team at the World Cup, and with the creativity from their masters Xavi and Iniesta, they have that lethal, defence splitting pass in them. The possesion that Spain manage to get, is something which helps them to win games, even if looks as if they have not gotten out of second gear themselves at South Africa 2010. Spain, through their midfield, are able to spread the ball from side to side of the pitch, and the opposition tire themselves out chasing Spanish shadows. Spain have not been exactly proficient in front of goal, despite David Villa being in sparkling form. They have missed hatfuls of chances, not helped by the poor form of Liverpool’s Fernando Torres. Torres is to blame for a lot of that, as he needs to be a much stronger presence in the centre of attack, while five goal David Villa roams out on the left hand side.

To Lift Trophy
Spain: 4/7 at BetFred
Netherlands: 13/8 at Coral

One of the key battles going the other way, will be Sergio Busquets v Wesley Sneijder. It will be the job of Busquets to keep Holland’s key man quiet. If the Spanish midfield can keep the ball away from Sneijder, then it is likely that Holland will struggle to make an impact at all. The Netherlands are hard to beat tactically, which is to coach Bert Van Marwijk’s credit, but they are nowhere near being an exceptional, world beating side when going forward. They have a few key players, like Sneijder, Robben and striker Robin Van Persie, but they are not a great side, certainly not at the technical level of Spain. The problem for Holland coach Van Marwijk may have been highlighted in Spain’s victory over Germany. Holland and Germany line up pretty much the same way tactically, and Spain easily snuffed out the threat of lone striker Miroslav Klose. The Netherlands cannot expect to get too much change out Spain with their lone striker Robin Van Persie, and therefore they will need to make every chance count. This is the big tactical problem for Holland, who like to play their way, and while it hasn’t been fluent, it has been working for them. Against Spain it could be a different matter.

Paul the Psychic Octopus got it right again in the Semi finals, predicting a win for Spain over Germany. He has tipped a win for Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final, like most people have. He has also tipped a win for Germany over Uruguay, after correctly predicting all of Germany’s World Cup results so far. But Busquets is a bit more pragmatic in knowing the task ahead. The more he gets on the ball, the more Spain will be likely to win. It could be as simple as that. Spain are favourites to lift the title, as another World Cup record looks set to tumble. No team who has lost their opening match has ever gone on to win the tournament, but that is exactly what Spain are on the threshold of doing. The World Cup Final will be all about possession. That is the main statistic which is catching the eye, and while it doesn’t appear that Spain really have been hitting the dizzying heights of their pretty passing game, their adjust passing game of keep ball is draining opposition in other ways. They have the potential to explode, they just need that early break through.

Holland V Spain head to head

Statistics should always play a big part in your World Cup betting, and the Final in Johannesburg will be your last chance to shine. If you had already back Spain or Holland as ante-post bets then you will be excited already, for those of you leaving it late, you won’t have such good prices, but studying stats can still give you an edge in bringing home some profit. Here are some 2010 FIFA World Cup Stats to help sway your betting:
 

• Both teams have conceded Two Goals from outside of the penalty box
• Spain have covered the greatest distance in possession of the ball
• Holland have got 51% of their shots on goal, Spain just 39%
• Spain have completed 765 short passes, to Holland’s 501
• Spain have a 58.3% total possession in all of their games, Holland have 54%
• Spain have outshot their opponents during the 2010 World Cup by 150%
• Spain have launched 97 attacks to Holland’s 60 (most of Spain’s have come down the centre)

Spain v Holland Betting Odds

Spain to win: 23/20 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 12/5 at Totesport
Holland to win: 11/4 at Totesport

Spain

It is what nearly two years of preparation have led to, the World Cup Final between Spain and Holland. While the strong Spaniards were expected to be in the finals, there was always an air of mystery about whether Holland would have the right mental fortitude to make it all the way through to the finals. Now, after a very strong showing by the South American nations, the European nations dominated the semi finals, and for Spain, it took a very un-Spanish like goal to see them through to the finals. After neatly playing their wonderful passing game, and taking short corner after short corner against Germany in their semi final match, Spain eventually found a way through with a cross into the box which defender Carles Puyol netted with his head. The move summed up the patience of Spain perfectly. All through the match, against a German side which had shown how ruthless they can be, Spain kept their football on the ball, as resisted the temptation to throw balls into the box from corners, simply because of the height and strength of the German defenders. One switched play however, caught the German defence off guard and Spain were into the finals. It is just reward for the European Champions, who have slowly grown in stature all through their 2010 World Cup campaign.

No, the start was not ideal for them, as they lost their opening match to Switzerland, but it was a result which did not hurt them either. It was a real wake up call for the pre-tournament favourites, and it illustrated to the Spanish, just how patient they were going to have to be in breaking down teams which set up completely defensively in front of them. That same trend has pretty much followed Spain all through their tournament, but what Spain do better than any team in the world, is slowly and patiently chip away at their opposition in order to get that break though. For all of their offensive power in the squad, Spain simply have not been going out and steam-rollering teams. Ever since their last group match win, a 2-1 victory over Chile, Spain have won all of their matches by a single goal, with Barcelona striker David Villa usually being the hero. It has been enough to see the Spaniards through time and time again, and the resolve that has been shown from that surprise opening feat, has probably been the biggest asset to coach Vicente Del Bosque. It is often hard for teams going into tournaments as favourites to live up to expectations, largely down to inflated confidence. But that will have been obliterated in the defeat to the Swiss, and humility can be a great tool for learning. The only way for Spain after that, was forward.

Spain do not change their personnel very much and they certainly do not change the way they play. Even going up against the Germans, who were scoring freely throughout the tournament including putting four past England and Argentina, Spain stuck to the plan which works best for them. They didn’t switch to any kind of defensive mode in order to snuff out the threat from the quick Germans, in fact it was the Germans who paid a lot respect to the Spanish and sat back. Any team which takes on Spain are going to have to cede a lot of possession. That is the Spanish way, keeping the ball and making passes all across the pitch, patiently waiting for that opening. The main orchestrator of this is Xavi, who does a lot of unseen work in comparison to the likes of Villa and Iniesta, but he pulls all of the strings in the middle of the park. If something is happening, then the likelihood is that he was at the origin of the move. Do the Spanish have what it takes to create some history and win the World Cup for the first time in their history? It really does feel like it would be now or never for this wonderful Spanish side. The only way they should be able to not get their hands on the title now, would be to blow it through over confidence and conceitedness. But you feel that any hints of that were wiped out by the defeat by the Swiss. Losing may just have won the World Cup for Spain.

Del Bosque started with Pedro up front instead of out of form Fernando Torres, to many people’s surprise. Pedro was incredibly lively and a lot sharper in all aspects of his play than Torres has shown throughout the tournament. Now Del Bosque has to decide whether to stick with the young Pedro, who squandered an incredible opportunity to make it 2-0 to the Spaniards against Germany, or go with the experience of Torres. The leaning is towards the latter, as experience counts for a great deal in the biggest occasions of world football. But Pedro brought a whole new level of energy to the Spanish side, helping out wonderfully on the right hand side in doubling up with impressive right back Sergio Ramos. Now all Spain have to do, is put on another perfect 90 minutes of football, and even if it is just that one goal from David Villa, or whether Torres pops up with a winner, it is all that Spain will need. For more than just an attacking team, Spain are incredibly hard working off the ball. It may be something again which goes unnoticed, but they are tough to break down. Firstly because it is so hard to get the ball off them and to make breaks, but that have one of the best centre half pairings in the world in Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. Breaking through there is one of the toughest jobs in football at the moment. Spain will rightly start as favourites to be the new named etched in the World Cup history. It is hard to bet against them.

Holland

What can Holland do to stop Spain? Coach Bert Van Marwijk has to take a great deal of credit where many Dutch coaches have failed before. He has not built a particularly spectacular looking side, certainly not of the level of quality of Brazil and Spain in terms of technical ability, but he has perhaps done something more important. He has kept the peace in the Dutch camp, and has united a team which has been infamous for rifts and falling apart under pressure at tournament football. The old Dutch beast threatened to raise its head again during South Africa 2010 when Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie was complaining about being substituted. That blew over pretty quickly, as Van Marwijk played down the incident and was happy to start with Van Persie in the next match. The Arsenal striker was against substituted, but he left the field of play this time with his head quietly hung instead of making a scene. That is perhaps indicative of the mentality that the Dutch have at this tournament. They are together as individuals and that has been the big difference this time around.

Frankly, the Dutch are not as good as the Spanish. That is clear to see in following the action from South Africa 2010, but the Dutch are a solid unit which have been getting the job done. They have needed a lot of luck to get where they are, with Wesley Sneijder getting a lucky goal against Brazil and again in the semi final against Uruguay, which broke the resistance of both teams. While Holland have won all of their games at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, they have not played to the high expectation which was expected from them. Their free flowing confident game has been a little subdued, and certainly getting Arjen Robben back from injury was a major boon for them. He, along with Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder is the attacking dimension of the team, and where all of their strengths are. Without them, it is hard to see where the creativity is coming from, and if they are starved of the ball, which they should be against the Spaniards, they will naturally find it hard to make an impact. Without them, the hopes of the Netherlands will rapidly fade, and therefore it will be interesting to see how coach Van Marwijk deals with this problem. Will they simply sit back like Germany did, and look to quickly hit the Spanish on the break. It is something which the Dutch have done in the tournament already, but Spain are so good, not many of those breaks come your way.

All in all, this is Holland’s big day, but their 3-2 victory over Uruguay in the semi finals, showed that they are perhaps a little more vulnerable than the Spanish. The two sides have never met in the World cup finals, and at South Africa 2010, there will definitely be a new name on the trophy. Other records from World Cup history have fallen already, and another one will be the fact that for the first time, a European nation will lift the trophy outside of their own continent. Holland or Spain? Holland will know that they are underdogs, and looking around at World Cup betting tips, everything is leaning towards Spain fulfilling their destiny of being both European and World champions. In order for Holland to get their hands anywhere near the trophy, they will need to tread the thin line between confidence in attack, and displaying a stalwart defence. If they can get a goal early, meaning that they come out and really take the game to the Spaniards in the early stages, then they will have a better chance. Spain will naturally come on to them, and the counter attack may again be the best weapon for the Dutch. They do not have the quality in the midfield that Spain do thought, and that means they must hustle the Spanish players, something the Dutch aren’t great at, and make the most of the opportunities which come their way.

Spain v Holland Betting Tips & Prediction

Prediction (who will win): Spain to win by one goal 13/5 at Bet365

To Lift Trophy
Spain: 4/7 at Bet365
Holland: 6/4 at Bet365

Current World Cup Final Holland v Spain Odds: