“It was a hard match, but all that is forgotten now and we are in the final,” said Wesley Sneijder. “The most important thing now is to win. We are so close. There is nothing bigger than the World Cup.”
Netherlands have remained unbeaten in the competition and have also not lost a competitive match since they were knocked out of the 2008 European Championship by Russia.
“It’s amazing that we have managed to do this,” said Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk, whose countrymen lost to hosts Argentina in the 1978 decider after a defeat by West Germany in the 1974 final. “It’s been 32 years. We can be very proud for such a small country.”
‘Uruguay belong to the elite’
The Dutch are well set to become the first team since Brazil in 1970 to win every match at a World Cup finals, and yet they were far from convincing in a nervous win over a Uruguay side.
“This match was worthy of a World Cup semi-final,” said Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez, whose country had not graced the final since they upset the odds to defeat Brazil in the 1950 decider.
“I’m proud of my players. We accept defeat against an opponent that was better than us. We’re sad because we weren’t that far away.”
The tiny South American nation, sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina, held their own against the Dutch and almost pulled off a major shock with a last minute goal getting the score back to 3-2.
But they were unable to snatch an equaliser and now face a third-place play-off on Saturday against the other losing semi-finalists while the Dutch head for Sunday’s final.
“When it comes to looking back, we can say that we were among the four semi-finalists and the other three are powerhouses of Europe,” he said. “Today we are looking at the team that is in the final and I believe we put this team in difficulty.”
“I know football in Uruguay and where it stands on a worldwide level and so I can say I am proud and happy with the performance of my team.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2010.
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