JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – Spain killed off Germany  with a single goal in a pulsating World Cup semi yesterday to set up a final with the Netherlands where a new winner of soccer’s biggest prize will be crowned.

A 73rd minute flying header by defender Carles Puyol from a perfectly placed corner settled one of the best matches of the  tournament, in which the ball swung from end to end and Germany mounted waves of desperate attacks in the final minutes.

The Netherlands beat Uruguay 3-2 on Tuesday to reach their first final since 1978.

The result in Durban was a repeat of Spain’s 1-0 victory against Germany in the Euro 2008 final and will mean a European team will now be crowned world champions outside Europe for the first time, at Johannesburg’s cavernous Soccer City stadium.

Spain and the Netherlands are two of the best sides never to  have won the trophy, but that will all change — for one of the  teams — on Sunday.

Spain, who looked less impressive earlier in the tournament  than the high-scoring Germans but have gradually improved,  produced their best performance to beat their young opponents.

“Players from defence to attack were extraordinary and  played a great game. We have another game to play… Holland  represent the values of Dutch football very well and they’ll be  very tough rivals,” said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.

In Spain’s earlier matches, striker David Villa’s killer instinct in pouncing on any chance had brought them victory but yesterday he was frequently stifled by German defenders.

Orange Fever

He was ebullient after the match, however: “We’re very  happy. The team played their best game yet. We’ve shown that in  the big moments we’ve risen to the occasion.”

German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was gracious in defeat: “They  deserved to win and we must now wish them all the best for the  final,” he said.

German manager Joachim Loew added: “I believe they’ll  (Spain) win this tournament… We played a great tournament but  weren’t as sharp tonight as we have been. It’s unfortunate.”

Back in Germany the defeat left heartbroken fans in tears.  Men and women wept at a public viewing area in Berlin where  350,000 had gathered to watch on big screens. In another crowd  of 50,000 in Munich, many also shed tears.

In contrast, the Dutch nation were swept up in Orange fever yesterday after their defeat of Uruguay, which took them to  their third World Cup final after defeats in 1974 and 1978.

More than 80,000 people — or 10 percent of Amsterdam’s population — watched on open-air screens in the city, which  erupted in orange fireworks when the final whistle blew.

The speed and quality of the German side has been one of the  surprises of the tournament. Up until the semi-final, the  Germans had been the more impressive, with their youngest squad  in 76 years scoring four goals on three occasions past  Australia, England and Argentina.

But Spain’s domination of possession and passing under  pressure yesterday finally made the difference.

Octopus  Oracle Right
While German fans were in mourning the victory vindicated  yet again a supposedly psychic octopus which has correctly  predicted every result in Germany’s World Cup games, including yesterday’s loss.

Paul the octopus, who lives in an aquarium in western  Germany, makes his prophecy by picking food from containers  marked with the flags of the two teams.

Germany coach Joachim Loew kept on his lucky blue sweater  for the semi-final but its magic failed to counter the mystic mollusc’s prophecy.

Organisers said yesterday that Africa’s first World Cup,  which sceptics had for years predicted would be a disaster,  would garner the third highest attendance ever after passing the  three million mark. Only the tournments in United States in 1994 and Germany in 2006 had bigger crowds.

Vuvuzelas have been the unique symbol of South Africa 2010,  but the plastic trumpets which sound like the drone of a swarm  of angry bees, are hated by many, especially television  audiences.

Stadium authorities in New Zealand have banned them for next year’s rugby World Cup

The vuvuzela craze has even reached Peru, but for all the wrong reasons. Two women were arrested in front of a Lima school for trying to sell marijuana stuffed into the horns.