Battle of Johannesburg

2010 FIFA World Cup Final

The final was played at Johannesburg's Soccer City
Event	2010 FIFA World Cup
Netherlands Spain 0 1
After extra time
Date	11 July 2010
Venue	Soccer City, Johannesburg
Man of the Match	Andrés Iniesta (Spain)
Referee	Howard Webb (England)
Attendance	84,490
Weather	Partly cloudy night 14 °C (57 °F) 34% humidity
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The 2010 FIFA World Cup Final (also known as the Battle of Johannesburg) was a football match that took place on 11 July 2010 at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, to determine the winner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Spain defeated the Netherlands 1–0 with a goal from Andrés Iniesta four minutes from the end of extra time. English referee Howard Webb was selected to officiate the match, which was marked by an unusually high number of yellow cards.

With both the Netherlands and Spain attempting to win their first FIFA World Cup, the 2010 final became the sixth final to be contested between non-former champions after 1930, 1934, 1954, 1958, and 1978. The Netherlands had been beaten in the final in 1974 and 1978, while Spain's best performance had been fourth place in 1950. It was the second consecutive all-European final, and marked the first time a European team has won the trophy outside Europe.

Prior to this game, the Netherlands and Spain had never met each other in the main tournament stages of either a World Cup or a European Championship, the two major tournaments for European international teams. In all-time head-to-head results, the teams had met nine times previously since 1920, winning four games each and drawing once, in either friendlies, European Championship qualifying games, and once in the 1920 Summer Olympics.