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| van Bronckhorst celebrating his epic opener |
The game began with both teams trying to analyse each other, Uruguay played very well defensively as the Netherlands took their time in building their attacks. It was a wonderful strike by van Bronckhorst which broke the deadlock, a rocket from long distance which went perfectly in the top right corner, slightly hitting off of the post. The Netherlands went on to dominate until Forlan got his long-range goal, a curling left foot which made Stekelenburg look like a fool as he couldn't keep the central shot out of his net.
In the second half Uruguay came out with passion and fight, chasing after every ball and sending plenty of men up the field to attack the Dutch goal. The Netherlands dealt with the pressure well and eventually created their second goal, Sneijder hits a low shot which deflects off of two Uruguayan defenders and curls around Muslera. The match seemed over, although Uruguay continued to press and have spirit, when the Netherlands scored their third with Robben tucking away a header off of the post, it seemed impossible for the South Americans to come back.
But as the Dutch were celebrating full of smiles and laughter, Uruguay pulled one back in the final minutes thanks to Maxi Pereira, giving them new inspiration to fight for the win. It's injury time and Uruguay are sending the entire team forward in a desperate attempt to score what would've been an epic equalizer. The Netherlands held out for a shaky finish, but move on to the final with Sneijder and Robben's magic emanating through the team.
