ROBIN VAN PERSIE knows his Holland team-mates have the chance to become immortal on Sunday.

Spain's midfield maestro Xavi is determined to enjoy the World Cup final.

CARLES Puyol emerged as an unlikely hero for Spain as his powerful 73rd minute header settled a tense World Cup semi-final with Germany and set-up a mouth-watering final again

SERBIA coach Radomir Antic has been given a four-game touchline ban for dissent after their World Cup match with Australia last month.

WEST Ham co-owner David Sullivan insists that he wants to retain the services of Robert Green despite the England keeper's World Cup howler.

INTER Milan president Massimo Moratti has indicated Manchester United have shown an interest in Wesley Sneijder after the midfielder helped the Netherlands reach the World Cup

Argentina FA president Julio Grondona says Diego Maradona should decide if he continues as national team manager.

URUGUAY striker Diego Forlan is hoping a right thigh injury will not stop him from playing in Saturday's third-place play-off match as he attempts to win the top scorer&#3

COACH Raymond Domenech was the chief architect of France's World Cup failure because of his inability to communicate with the players, Arsenal's William Gallas has cla

ROBIN van Persie intends to replace the giant picture of Diego Maradona cradling the World Cup he has at home with one of himself doing exactly the same thing.

CARLES Puyol powered Spain into their first World Cup final with a thunderous second-half header to beat Germany.

CARLES Puyol emerged as an unlikely hero for Spain as his powerful 73rd minute header settled a tense World Cup semi-final with Germany and set-up a mouth-watering final again

Six players are still in contention to win the Golden Boot award for the World Cup top scorer going into the final two matches. Uruguay face Germany in the third place playoff on Saturday before the Netherlands take on Spain in the final the following day. Each nation has at least one player who can finish top scorer. Read more... Six Still Up For Golden Boot originally appeared on About.com World Soccer on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 04:05:48.

Germany coach Joachim Low is backing Spain to win the World Cup after the European champions dumped his side out of the tournament, while midfield playmaker Xavi is determined

FIFA World Cup semi-final - Spain 1:0 Germany So in the end the Germans were human after all. After a double demolition of England and Argentina which sent shockwaves throughout the soccer world, Joachim Low's lions were mown down by raging Spanish bulls. Yogi was lost in the woods as Spain revived their Euro 2008 glory to hand him a sobering football lesson in Durban. Germany, so awesome in the knock-out stages that they had begun to acquire an unbeatable whiff, were cowed by the defiantly intricate passing of the European Champions, who persisted with their Beautiful Game in the face of the tournament's most dangerous outfit. It was indeed a victory for football as the winners delighted at times and never resorted to a route one approach or launched the ball aimlessly out of defence. The Spanish allegiance to one-touch passing to feet rarely placed them in danger and ultimately had the desired effect of tiring out the chasing Germans physically, while their taking the game to them won the psychological battle. Scoring first was key in the end as it prevented Germany playing their counter-attacking game which had speared England and Argentina so successfully. When the Germans did play on the rebound, Spanish bodies scuttled back and Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol held up the 'No Pasaran' banners. After proving such a razor-sharp attacking force in previous rounds, the Germans were a blunt butter knife last night, limited to a single shot on target from substitute Toni Kroos. The suspension of Thomas Mueller had removed the Mannschaft's right-wing menace, but Bastian Schweinsteiger also failed to exert an influence, pinned back from advancing by the red shirts buzzing around him, while Mesut Ozil's rising star waned for a second match in succession. Vicente del Bosque's tactical plan triumphed. Painfully aware how lethal Germany were on the break, he shrewdly dropped the sluggish Fernando Torres to add an extra body in the middle, with a twin shield between defence and midfield of Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets to block any German advances. Busquets in particular watched Ozil like a hawk and the passing in midfield from Alonso, Iniesta and Xavi was so crisp that Germany were left to chase. In the event it was Spain's taking the game to Germany which handed them victory. They refused to be scared by Germany's previous results and their quick passing and commitment to possession in all areas of the field zapped their frightening opponents' venom. "They are the masters of the game. You can see it in every pass. They can hardly be beaten," admitted Low ruefully. German sub Marcell Jansen concurred: "Spain's organisation and tactics are in a different league," he said. "When they attack, the whole team comes forward, and when they defend, they all work together to keep it tight." The spirit of 2008 breathes again. A beautiful team winning at the Beautiful Game. What is not to celebrate? (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football

Sports writer Moira Gordon was online for a live discussion on football's biggest tournament today.