Greg Lalas, editor in chief:
"From a tournament wrought with poor refereeing and dramatic endings, should we have expected anything other than what we got? Spain were clearly the better team and, based on their entire body of work in South Africa, they deserved to win. They showed incredible discipline, work rate and, at times, panache. They improved as the tournament went on and their defense quietly matched that of the Italian team that won the 2006 World Cup, conceding just two goals the entire way. So why, at the final whistle, did I feel sorry for the Dutch? Because they went toe to toe with a superior team, something that will always have a place in my heart."
My reaction was just full of excitement!!!!