The Netherlands and Spain made the World Cup final with victories against Uruguay and Germany, respectively. The Dutch did it with goals three minutes apart in the second half (after a spectacular 35-yard strike from Giovanni Van Bronckhorst in the first half) en route to a 3-2 win, while Spain dominated possession and got the only goal of the match on a second-half header from Carles Puyol. A championship victory would be the first for either country.