Then came the turning point, in the 109th minute, when Heitinga earned his second yellow card, this time for tugging down Iniesta. The game seemed destined for a penalty shootout. With eight minutes left in regulation, Arjen Robben breezed past defender Carles Puyol, but he dawdled inside the penalty area, allowing Casillas to rush out and smother the ball. Stray passes and harried sequences of play became the norm from the Spanish in the second half, as the Netherlands began to lead the dance. Spain was rattled, and clearly thrown off its game. The physical and tough-tackling Dutch managed to contain SpainвЂ™s dynamic midfield trio of Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Xabi Alonso in a first half that saw goalkeepers Maarten Stekelenburg and Iker Casillas both make big saves. Spain dictated the pace of the match for the opening 45 minutes, but were continually thwarted by an aggressive and destructive Dutch side that kept kicking at their heels. Such was the situation the Spaniards found themselves in against the Dutch. But itвЂ™s hard not to walk away without bloody knuckles when youвЂ™ve been dragged into a street fight and are no longer playing by Marquess of Queensberry rules. The SpaniardsвЂ™ tried to use their beloved Tiki Taka to wear down their opponents. The foul-filled matched never fell into a rhythm, depriving the 84,490 fans in attendance at JohannesburgвЂ™s Soccer City Stadium of their moneyвЂ™s worth. English referee Howard Webb handed out a World Cup final record 14 yellow cards and sent off Dutch defender John Heitinga in extra time. THE FINALДЄs a sporting spectacle, the final between Spain and the Netherlands was a disappointment. The top two teams from each of the eight groups advanced to the knockout round.

Fifa 2010 final standings