Right, do not miss our coverage of the second semifinal to be played on Wednesday night. Swaroop Swaminathan - who spouts little known football trivia for kicks - will be here to bring you all the action. Till then, goodbye!
Based on tonight's show, you cannot be convinced that Netherlands will start favourites in the final, irrespective of the opponent. They were the better team, but it wasn't the greatest performance from the Dutch. Be sure that their opponents in the final will serve a far tougher challenge.
Netherlands now wait for the winner of the Spain v Germany semifinal to be held on Wednesday night. Painful end for Uruguay, who have done well to reach the semis. Must admit that Netherlands were the better team and deserved victory in this game.
So Netherlands run away with the game in the end, but not without a few scares along the way. A good, hard fought, physical game of football - a real man's game you might say!
Wow, what a fantastic finish to the game!! Uruguay gave everyone a tense final few minutes after pulling one back in extra time. But Netherlands hold on to reach their first final since 1978.
All over!! Netherlands go through after an anxious final 3 minutes!!!
Uruguay go all-out in attack to score another and draw level..
Uruguay score!!! Drama!! With 2 minutes to go, we have another twist!!
89th minute: Robben substituted. He put the game beyong doubt with his header, and smiles all around as he reaches the dugout. Heavy backslapping from his teammates, and why not...
2 minutes of regulation time to play..
87th minute: Robben tears the defence to shreds with a run of mad pace. Cannot finish, a weak chip straight to the keeper.
84th minute: Forlan is substituted. Been a great WC for Forlan. With 4 goals, one behind the leader, he could still win the Golden Boot, provided he scores in the 3rd place playoff. I'm sorry for jumping the gun, but I really dont see Uruguay scoring twice in 5 minutes..
And just like that, the game has changed complexion completely.. Uruguay with 12 minutes to score two goals.. But Netherlands will have none of it, they continute to attack..
Uruguay come crashing down.. They find themselves two goals down after a frantic 4 minutes..
74th minute: Netherlands score a third!! Koyt with a cross from the left, inch perfect for Robben who calmly heads the ball into the bottom corner. Keeper Muslera doesn't even move, he is comprehensively beaten. 3-1 Netherlands..
71st minute: Netherlands in the lead again!!! Sneijder with a strike with his right foot from inside the box, not a clean strike. Ball trickles past van Persie, who looks to get a touch on it but isn't able to. Keeper is beaten as the ball rolls into the net. Not the best looking goal, who Netherlands dont care.
66th minute: Forlan with a freekick from just outside the box. Forlan territory no doubt. Great placement as the ball bends to the left post, but the keeper saves it. Good attempt, needed more power.
62nd minute: van Bommel with the elbow to the Uruguay player, but he wins the freekick nevertheless.. Bit unfair for Uruguay..
Into the final 30 minutes of the game..
I must say, the ref has had his hands full in this game, and has done a fairly good job. A lot of physical play, the ref hasn't played spoilsport, allowing play to continue when in advantage.. Very thin line between a hard fought game and an all out crazy tackle which could sour things though..
It has been a pretty scrappy game so far, thank the heavens for the two blistering goals scored..
The final shot was taken by Pereira, by the way...
50th minute: Dreadful piece of defending by Boulahrouz, whose back pass to the keeper is intercepted by Cavani. Keeper Stekelenburg is way off his goal, and the follow up shot is headed away by the defender who covers the goal-line.
So Forlan did it again in the first half, his goals are always breathtaking to watch.. Does he have it him to score another and take Uruguay to the final?
Note to self - Keep midnight snack at my desk. No point running back and forth to the canteen during half-time..
Second half begins..
Not the most exciting game, but the Forlan strike has turned the match on its head. But how about the van Bronckhorst goal? Will rank among the top 5 of this World Cup methinks.. So there could be another thriller on our hands here, be sure to come back soon for second half action.. I'm going to grab a quick bite!
Half-time.. !! Two goals of the highest quality leaves the game the wonderfully poised!!
Game on!! Uruguay score a crucial goal just before half-time.. The jabulani embarassing the keeper there.. Some crazy swerve and curl..
41st minute: Forlan with a stunner to bring Uruguay level! Takes the ball from midfield, shifts it to his left and strikes from about 30 yards out. Ridiculous swerve on the ball as keeper Stekelenburg barely gets a hand to it. Jabulani and Forlan combine!
Uruguay equalise!!! Forlan!!!
35th minute: Pereira with a weak shot from outside the box. No troubling the keeper.
35th minute: Cavani with a run down the right, has 3 Uruguay strikers waiting for a cross. But Cavani wants the ball to himself and the move is stripped by the Dutch defence.
The game getting pretty physical now.. Ref best keep things in check before something nasty happens..
32nd minute: Cavani brought down by van Bronckhorst in the box. Appeals for penalty, ref doesn't move.
27th minute: Demy de Zeeuw gets a kick to the face! Caceres tries to reach the ball with a dangerously high foot which smacks Demy de Zeeuw on the face. The hit looks even worse in slow motion, as bits of grass and dirt ricochets off Demy de Zeeuw at the moment of impact. Yellow card for Caceres, and Caceres begins to complain. Really no excuse for that challenge, that was pure violent.
Roberto Carlos would have been proud of that. A real Howitzer!
19th minute: Giovanni van Bronckhorst with a scorcher!! Strike from about 40 yards out with the left foot, an absolute rocket which beats the keeper and crashes into the top corner. No chance for the keeper. One of the best goals of the tournament for sure!!
Netherlands score!!! Blinder from Giovanni van Bronckhorst!!
Netherlands with the bulk of possession.. Possession, however, means nothing when you dont convert your chances (Re: Germany against Argentina)
13th minute: Sneijder with a strike, hits his teammate. Bad enough when you have defenders to beat, now you must contend with your own team.
10th minute: Kuyt in the thick of things again. Crosses for Robben, whose header is blocked and lobs to the keeper. Van Persie rushes to get the lob, but the keeper holds on comfortably.
7th minute: Pereira with a Beckham attempt. Tries to ctach the keeper off guard with a shot from the half-line. Nothing doing, shot isn't on target. Trying extra hard to be a hero.
4th minute: Sneijder with a cross, punched away by Muslera.. Ball falls to Kuyt, whose volleyed shot sails over the bar.
Couple of hard challenges from both teams in the first 2 minutes, referee lets play continue.. Talking of refs, the officials will hope they have a quiet game today.. The refs have been in the news for all the wrong reasons in this WC.
Action begins..
Minutes from kick-off.. Uruguay to do the honours..
Team news:
Uruguay: 1-Fernando Muslera; 3-Diego Godin, 6-Mauricio Victorino, 5-Walter Gargano, 16-Maximiliano Pereira, 22-Martin Caceres, 15-Diego Perez, 11-Alvaro Pereira, 17-Egidio Arevalo, 7-Edinson Cavani, 10-Diego Forlan.
Netherlands : 1-Maarten Stekelenburg; 12-Khalid Boulahrouz, 3-John Heitinga, 4-Joris Mathijsen, 5-Giovanni van Bronckhorst; 7-Dirk Kuyt, 6-Mark van Bommel, 10-Wesley Sneijder, 14-Demy de Zeeuw, 11-Arjen Robben; 9-Robin van Persie.
Referee : Ravshan Irmatov from Uzbekistan
National anthems.. Huge day for Uruguay this... The Netherlands' players look like they are gearing up for war.. Some scary looking faces there..
Once a football powerhouse in the 1930s through to the 1950s, Uruguay have since lost their way. Could this World Cup see them on top of the world once again?
Welcome to our coverage of the Netherlands v Uruguay game..
