There was nothing to write home about in terms of quality in the first 15 minutes, but Giovanni Van Bronkhorst struck an absolute piledriver with his left-foot from about 35 yards to get the match going. First blood to Netherlands.
Diego Forlan - the inspirational force behind Uruguay's fairytale - equalised for Les Celeste. And it was a special strike which matched the effort of Van Bronkhorst. Uruguay restored parity but could they capitalise on a momentum shift?
It was not a free-flowing spectacle that the neutrals wanted. Here, Arjen Robben and Walter Gargano are not shy to go into a tackle.
With Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima in attendance, the match had a royal feel to it.
Uruguay were well in the contest and had numerous attacking forays in the second-half. But Wesley Sneijder, who has been Holland's best player at the World Cup, beat the keeper from about 15 yards to put Netherlands in front for the second time.
After Sneijder struck in the 70th minute to give Oranje the lead for the second time in the game, Arjen Robben arguably put the game to bed in the 73rd minute with a beautiful header from well inside the box to make it 3-1.
With the Netherlands' second and third goals resembling deathknells, Uruguay withdrew Forlan in the 80th minute. This seemed like the final nail in the Uruguay coffin.
Maximiliano Pereira (16) struck an injury-time goal to give Uruguay hope but it was too little too late. Netherlands saw out the remaining seconds and advanced to their first World Cup final since 1978.
The Oranje fans cannot wait for their players to clinch the World Cup. Here, Rafael van der Vaart is handed a mock trophy by the travelling fans.