Filed under: FIFA World Cup, Netherlands, Uruguay
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Uruguay made a game of it. They defended well, scored a great goal in the first half and left many in the crowd of more than 62,000 here at Green Point Stadium wondering if the tiny South American’ country’s impossible World Cup fairy tale, one in which they were the villain for some, would continue.
Within the space of four historic minutes midway through the second half of this semifinal, Netherlands stars Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben jolted feisty Uruguay, and the tournament, back to reality. Sneijder scored his fifth goal of the competition in the 70th minute, Robben headed home his second in the 73rd, and the undefeated but long-suffering Oranje were through to their first World Cup final since 1978 thanks to a 3-2 win.
That game 32 years ago was played before a raucous crowd in Buenos Aires, where the host Argentines benefited from some intimidation (they delayed the start of the game in order to allow tension in the stadium to build, the Dutch felt) and a military dictatorship that wasn’t shy about expressing its support for the home team. The Dutch took the game to overtime, but Argentina scored twice and won, 3-1.
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Four years before, Johan Cruyff’s side took a 2nd minute lead in the final against West Germany in Munich. Out to prove their soccer superiority to the Germans, they famously “forgot to score a second goal,” according to Johnny Rep. The Germans won, 2-1.
The Dutch have always had their excuses. Brilliant players have come and gone: Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Denis Bergkamp, Frank de Boer, Frank Rijkaard and more. And yet something always came up — locker room discord, one bad game at the wrong time, a missed penalty kick or two, or an issue between a coach and a key player. There was always a reason the Netherlands disappointed.
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