Spain win 2010 World Cup

PanARMENIAN.Net - Spain won the World Cup for the first time in its history as an extra-time goal from midfielder Andres Iniesta gave his country a last-gasp 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final at Soccer City.

The showpiece game of the South Africa-hosted tournament on July 11 was littered with no less than 13 yellow cards and one red but was settled by a moment of magic by the Barcelona man after he was played in by substitute Cesc Fabregas.

His 116th-minute strike was the goal all Spaniards were waiting for and spared both sides the agony of deciding the new world champions by penalties.

The breakthrough came after the Dutch had been reduced to 10 men, following Johnny Heitinga's dismissal in the second half of extra time by referee Howard Webb for a foul on Iniesta.

"It's incredible," Iniesta told gathered media in a post-match news conference.

Spain coach Vincente del Bosque added to the happy sentiment following his side's victory: "Today is a reward for beautiful football. Everyone in the dressing room is ecstatic," he said.

Del Bosque said it had been a pleasure to coach the side, which with the win adds the World Cup to its European crown.

The coach also refused to be drawn into criticizing the tough tackling of the Netherlands: "I'm here to speak about the beautiful things of football. Holland played a good game in an even, balanced match. Yes it was rough at times, but that is part of football."

The Netherlands lost its third appearance in a World Cup final, after previous defeats in the 1974 and 1978, cnn.com reported.