Finally the Final... PREDICTIONS!

First of all, thanks to everyone who voted in the poll. I think we can all safely say that Marc Dadigan is Arjen Robben's twin separated at birth.

Secondly, what a fun World Cup. I've had the opportunity watch most of the games, some of them twice, and this tournament has not disappointed. I'm very happy to see that there will definitely be a first time winner in the competition, and that one elite team will get another notch in its belt.

To start, I'm going on record as picking Uruguay to upset Germany for 3rd. Watching the Spain game, I realized that Germany is a team that need its opposition to make mistakes, and Uruguay was able to go deep into this World Cup by making very few of them. I predict Uruguay eeks it out by a goal.

Prediction: Uruguay 1 - 0 Germany

Now onto the final. I've been saying from the beginning that I really like the Dutch, and nothing has changed on that front. But Spain... Spain is so classically brilliant. You come to expect a certain level of proficiency from Spain and even though the passing and close control they have is ridiculous, they look so calm doing it that it feels almost pedestrian. Plus, it doesn't generate as many goals as well calculated counter-attacking football, so it's easy to understate just how difficult it is to play the way they do.

It certainly helps that lots of guys on that team play their club football together, in particular to the two midfield maestros, Xavi and Iniesta. Spain's precision, possession, and quick passing will definitely give the Dutch back line trouble... I think Spain could score first but...

That being said, I'm still going with the Dutch. Spain will have the better 11 on the field, but the two best players on the pitch will be Dutch. Sneijder has been terrific, and his distribution will be more than good enough to help Dutch attackers find space behind the Spanish midfield. On top of that, Robben is going to spend the game running headlong at Joan Capdevilla, who is definitely the weak link in that Spanish back line. One on one, he's no match for Robben, meaning Puyol and Pique will find themselves wider than they care to be trying to keep Robben's left foot away from the goal.

Additionally, I think the Dutch midfield, with Van Bommel as the enforcer, will keep Spain from holding the ball as much as they did against Germany. As I said, Germany needs to wait for you to make a mistake, but the Dutch are mature enough to force you into the mistake.

Prediction: Netherlands 2 - 1 Spain

But either outcome is ultimately fine by me. In 2006, I didn't really feel like Italy deserved to win. This time, I think both these teams have played really well and have been fun to watch. If you had asked me before the tournament what final match I'd want to see (excluding the US), I probably would've said this one.