Puyol’s goal lifts Spain

Associated Press

DURBAN, South Africa

They pressured Germany the entire match and peppered its goalkeeper so many times a score seemed inevitable.

Finally, with a mighty swing of his head that sent his long, curly locks flying, Spain’s Carles Puyol got it done.

With the World Cup final in reach — and Queen Sofia cheering from the stands — La Roja came through with their best game yet.

“We’ve shown that in the big moments we can grow even more,” striker David Villa said after Spain’s 1-0 semifinal victory over Germany on Wednesday night. “We should have scored more goals, but one from Puyol has put us in the final.”

Spain will play for the World Cup title for the first time.

Wednesday’s game was a repeat, down to the final score, of the 2008 European Championship final when Spain beat Germany to win its first major title in 44 years.

When the final whistle sounded, the Spanish players on the field thrust their arms in the air while the substitutes raced out to join them. Two teammates grabbed Villa, who has scored all but two of Spain’s goals here, and carried him on their shoulders.

In the stands, Spanish fans partied deep into the night, waving flags, banging on drums and singing chorus after chorus of “Ole! Ole! Ole!”

“This is one of the greatest moments for Spain, for us to be in the final of the World Cup, it’s history,” said Villa, who remains tied with Netherlands playmaker Wesley Sneijder for the tournament scoring lead at five goals apiece. “And we want to make more history in the final.”

Spain faces the Netherlands on Sunday at Soccer City in Johannesburg, ensuring a first-time champion. The Dutch, who beat Uruguay 3-2 on Tuesday night, have lost in their only two trips to the final.

The two teams have never met in the World Cup and their all-time series is even.

“I am sure the Spanish can win any game,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said, “because they are dominant and it’s hard to contain their attack.”

Making opponents look bad is becoming Spain’s trademark.

Spain has been the best team in Europe — all of the world, really — for much of the last four years. It’s lost all of two games since November 2006, one a shocker to Switzerland in the group-stage opener. With all but two members of the starting lineup playing for either Barcelona or Real Madrid, the Spanish play with a seamlessness and fluidity that’s almost intuitive.

This wasn’t what the Germans envisioned after overhauling their team following the Euro 2008 loss, bringing in youngsters such as Mesut Oezil, Sami Khedira and goal-scoring machine Thomas Mueller.

“Right now, I really don’t feel like playing for third place,” German captain Philipp Lahm said. “The disappointment is very big. We had a lot as our goal and we didn’t succeed.”

For the Spanish, it’s everything they’ve been working for these last four years.