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Johannesburg

Tears poured from the face of Spain captain Iker Casillas at the sound of the final whistle - but there was no sadness from the goalkeeper, only joy. Andres Iniesta's goal four minutes before the end of extra-time had - and there is no doubt that they deserved it.

They might have but they won the six that followed and conceded just twice in the entire tournament. They may have scored a mere eight goals - the lowest tally ever by a trophy-winning side - and won all their knock-out games 1-0 but this was no repeat of , no attempt by a limited team to pack their midfield, stifle their opponents and strike on the counter attack.

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Johannesburg

The players of Spain and the Netherlands, as well as their coaching staff and supporters, face their day of destiny at Soccer City on Sunday.

The winners will make history by becoming the eighth team to win the Fifa World Cup. Back home the triumphant players will become legends.

Thankfully there is a pleasing variety of potential match-winners on both sides; technically gifted players who possess the ability to unlock the opposition with a moment of invention and skill.

David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Xavi for Spain, Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben for the Dutch - these are just six who could provide us with a final to savour.

But when thinking about the match and whose influence could prove to be decisive, I keep coming back to Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel.

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Durban

In the end, there were no complaints. Members of the German team I saw answering questions about Wednesday's World Cup semi-final defeat admitted that . They did it in a clear, honest and analytical way, displaying an emotional control that struck me as being a very German quality.

It reminded me of an incident in Dortmund four years ago after . A German journalist walked past my desk within minutes of the final whistle, looked at some statistics of the game on a television screen and told me dispassionately that the best team had won.

I asked Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer on Wednesday what he thought of the match. The 24-year-old simply replied: "Spain was the better team today."

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Durban

Miroslav Klose spent most of last season warming the bench at - but here in South Africa he has been of crucial importance to Germany for the third World Cup in succession.

His brace against Argentina on Saturday took him to four goals in the current tournament and .

The 32-year-old is now just a good day at the office away from becoming the tournament's all-time leading goalscorer.

In an attempt to put this into perspective, the Polish-born Klose recently recalled a conversation he had with Ronaldo after the 2002 tournament.

The Brazilian had just whacked in eight goals, including a brace in the 2-0 final win over Germany - and Klose remembers thinking that he would never scale such heady heights.

"Two goals to go past his record - it is just crazy," said Klose after set up Wednesday's semi-final tie against Spain in Durban.

I suspect many people would agree with him.

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Johannesburg

Uruguay striker emerged from his team's dressing room after their on Friday partially hidden behind the lens of a video camera.

Abreu, affectionately known as El Loco (the madman), has been shooting a film of his trip to South Africa and was determined to capture the joyous scenes after La Celeste ended a 40-year wait to reach the last four at the World Cup.

Yet there is no doubt that he himself had been centre stage. It was, after all, the 33-year-old's extraordinarily risky but breathtakingly bold penalty that sealed a

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Pretoria

I am struggling to remember a more dramatic end to a World Cup match than at Soccer City.

Luis Suarez's goal-line handball from Dominic Adiyiah in the dying seconds of extra-time saved a certain goal but resulted in a red card for the Ajax striker and a penalty that was, literally, the last kick of the game before the shoot-out.

Asamoah Gyan, scorer of two spot-kicks already in South Africa, stood just one strike of the football from taking an African team to the last four of the World Cup for the first time.

He had an entire continent behind him, willing him to score, but heartbreakingly for the 24-year-old, his strike skimmed the crossbar and flew into the stand behind the goal.

Moments after his miss the camera cut to Suarez, who had left the field in a state of despondency but was now overcome by sheer, unadulterated fist-pumping joy.

His gamble had paid off in spectacular style.

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Pretoria

In a manner of speaking, I am still in Paraguay.

I passed through the South American country a few years ago but the bus I left on did not stop at the border at

I went to the front and mentioned this to the driver but he just shrugged his shoulders in a way that terminated any discussion. We carried on until we reached Argentine immigration.

During my few days in Paraguay, I managed to persuade my wife we should spend one of our evenings watching a World Cup qualifier on a big outdoor screen at a pizza parlour.

but what struck me most was the passion for the game. The cameras cut to scenes of jubilant supporters at the stadium, while all around the locals were jumping up and down, singing and celebrating.

I thought of this earlier this week as Roque Santa Cruz tried to explain what reaching a World Cup quarter-final for the first time meant to Paraguayans.

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Pretoria

Wednesday was undoubtedly a strange day. I felt slightly lost and disorientated, with a nagging thought at the back of my mind that there was something I ought to be doing.

It was the first time since 11 June that there was no football to watch. After 56 games over 19 football-filled days, the World Cup finally paused for breath.

Having travelled more than 3,000 miles on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ bus, visiting nine stadiums and watching 19 teams in action, I thought it was time that I also took stock.

So here are a few things I have enjoyed about this tournament - and some I haven't.

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