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Andres Iniesta scores the winner in the World Cup final

The World Cup final

Spain on top of the World

Spain 1 Netherlands 0 after extra time (Johannesburg) 11 July 2010
Andres Iniesta scored late in extra time as European champions Spain lifted the World Cup for the first time and condemned the Netherlands to their third defeat in a World Cup final. Stekelenburg made a diving save to keep out a header from Ramos in the 5th minute and 6 minutes later Ramos got into the box and drove the ball across goal but Heitinga diverted it over the bar. Casillas got down to turn a shot from Robben round the post just before the break and got the better of Robben again in the 61st minute with a trailing foot as the Dutchman was through on goal. Heitinga allowed a low cross to reach Villa in front of goal in the 69th minute but made amends with a last ditch block, and in the 77th minute Spain came close again but Ramos saw his free header from a corner fly over the bar. Robben ran towards goal in the 83rd minute but the physical presence of Puyol and the reaction of Casillas averted the danger, as did the foot of Stekelenburg 5 minutes into extra time when Farbregas was through on goal for Spain. A minute later Mathijsen headed the ball over from a corner and in the 101st minute a shot from van Bronckhorst was deflected into the side netting. Heitinga who was one of the 13 players booked in this match received his 2nd yellow and took an early shower for a foul in the 109th minute and with 4 minutes of extra time left the ball broke to Iniesta in the box who hammered it past Stekelenburg into the far corner to win the World Cup for Spain.
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England under 17s champions of Europe

English boys lift Euro trophy

England 2 Spain 1 UEFA under 17 final (Vaduz 30 May 2010)
England won the European under 17 championships after coming from behind to beat Spain 2-1 in Liechtenstein. Gerard gave Spain a deserved lead in the 22nd minute when he fired the ball in with a deflection off Andre Wisdom who scored at the right end 8 minutes later with a header to level the score. Two minutes into the 2nd half, Connor Wickham picked up a long ball and exchanged passes with Keane before running into the box and drilling the winner into the bottom corner.

Diego Milito scores in Champions League final

Milito double wins Inter treble

Inter Milan 2 Bayern Munich 0 Champions League final(Bernabeu de Madrid 22 May 2010)
Having won their domestic leagues and cups, both Inter Milan and Bayern Munich knew that victory in the Champions League final in Madrid would give them an unprecedented treble. Diego Milito benefited from a long ball from his keeper Julio Cesar nodding it to Schneider and then receiving it back to poke over Butt and open the scoring in the 35th minute. Both teams came close minutes into the 2nd half with Julio Cesar blocking a Thomas Mueller effort and Butt spectacularly denying Pandev, but with 20 minutes remaining Milito walzed into the box and swept the ball past Butt into th ecorner of the net to give Jose Mourinho’s men the cushion they would take to the final whistle.

Cech saves penalty in FA Cup final

Chelsea do the double

Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 0 FA Cup final (Wembley 15 May 2010)
In a match with 2 missed penalties and 5 encounters with the woodwork a goal from Didier Drogba was enough to win Chelsea the Cup. Lampard tested James in the 14th minute with a dipping shot from long range that scraped the outside of the post, but having dealt with the pressure Portsmouth came close in the 22nd minute when Petr Cech made an instinctive save to deny Piquionne who diverted a Boateng volley at 3 yards out. Five minutes later after some good work on the left, Cole delivered the ball on a plate for Kalou who struck the bar of the unguarded goal from 6 yards. The Portsmouth crossbar saw further action on the half-hour mark when a John Terry header failed to find its target and in the 38th minute a fierce free-kick from Drogba was pushed onto the  underside of the crossbar by the outstretched James in the Portsmouth goal who nervously watched the ball bounce back off the goal-line. Portsmouth were given a golden chance ten minutes into the 2nd half when Belletti brought Dindane down in the box, but Petr Cech saved Kevin Prince Boateng’s poor spot-kick with his trailing leg and 3 minutes later Drogba swung in a free-kick off the base of the post to break the deadlock and Portsmouth hearts. Frank Lampard was also guilty of a penalty miss when he shot wide of the post just minutes before the final whistle which signaled the double for Chelsea.      

Schwarzer beaten in Europa final

Forlan foils Fulham fairytale finish

Atletico Madrid 2 Fulham 1 after extra time Europa League final (Hamburg 12 May 2010)
Fulham’s amazing run in the Europa League came to a forlorn end with Diego Forlan -who had knocked Liverpool out with his goals in the semi- scoring late in extra time to break Fulham hearts and win Atletico Madrid the Europa League Cup in Hamburg’s Nordbank Arena. Forlan saw his effort come off the post in the 11th mintue, but when Aguero struck the ball into the path of the Uruguayan in the 32nd minute his instinctive finish gave Atletico the lead which they could only hold for 5 minutes before Simon Davies volleyed the ball past David de Gea who got down well to save from the Fulham scorer on the hour-mark. Fulham held the Spanish representatives until 4 minute from the end of extra time when Aguero kept the ball in at the byline and found Forlan who flicked it into the corner of the net to give Atletico the cup.

Africa Cup of Nations Final

Mohamed Gedo celebrates winning goal

Sunday January 31st

The Pharaohs of Egypt won the Africa Cup of Nations for an unprecedented 3rd time in a row with a 1-0 win over an energetic young Ghana team in the heat of Angola. The experienced Egyptians kept the Black Stars of Ghana at bay allowing them very few openings and with 20 minutes left Hassan Shehata sent on super sub and top goal scorer Mohamed Gedo who in the 85th minute played a one-two with Zidan and curled the ball into the far corner past the diving Kingson in the Ghana goal to win the match and tournament for Egypt. (Egypt 1 Ghana 0)

Read 3rd match play off and all other match reports from the Africa Cup of Nations 2010

German keeper Nadine Angerer flying high against England

German girls finish off England

Germany 6 England 2 Women's Euro final (Helsinki 10 September 2009)
Germany continued their domination of women's football by thrashing England 6-2 in the final of Euro 2099 in Finland. Grings laid the ball on for Prinz to roll past Brown in the 19th minute and 3 minutes later Melanie Behringer let fly from 41 yards to double the German lead, but within 2 minute England pulled a goal back when Kelly Smith ran onto a long ball in the box and dribbled her way along the by-line to present Karen Carney with a tap-in. Five minutes into the 2nd half Krahn's volley came off the post and Kim Kulig knocked the rebound into the roof of the net, but 5 minutes later Kelly Smith skilfully beat a German defender in the box to fire past Angerer in the German goal. Inka Grings restored Germany's 2 goal lead with a firm header in the 62nd minute and caught England's defence flat-footed on the counter attack to cue the ball up for a shot past Brown in the 73rd minute. Birgit Prinz lashed in the 6th a few minutes later to cap a magnificent victory for Germany.
How they reached the final

2009 Community Shield
August 9 Wembley

Drogba, Terry, Lampard, Carvalho and Cole collecting the Community Shield

Chelsea win Community Shield

Chelsea 2 Manchester United 2 (Chelsea win on penalties)
A penalty shootout was needed to separate Manchester United and Chelsea on a warm sunny day at Wembley.
Chelsea came close in the 5th minute when an in-swinging corner was met by Ivanovic whose effort was headed off the line and onto the bar by Evra, but in the 10th minute Nani picked the ball up outside the area, found space and swept it past Cech to give Manchester United the lead. In the 56th minute Malouda lifted the ball into the 6 yard box, but Foster could only punch the ball into the path of Carvalho who equalised with a diving header. With 20 minutes remaining Lampard's shot was to powerful for Foster to handle and the ball crossed the line via the post. Foster had to get down quickly 6 minutes later to hold onto a shot from Drogba, and with Rooney running into the box and dinking the ball past Cech in stoppage time, the fate of the 2009 Community Shield had to be decided on penalty kicks. After Petr Cech had saved an inaccurate penalty from Giggs and a weak spot-kick from Evra, Salomon Kalou dispatched the deciding penalty into the top corner to win Carlo Ancelotti silverware in his first official match as Chelsea manager.

UEFA under 21 Final
29 June 2009 in Sweden

Young Germans lift 2009 trophy

Young Germans rule Europe
(Don't mention the four)
(Germany 4 England 0)
Germany swept England aside in the final to win the UEFA under 21 championships. England started well, but in the 23rd minute Özil delivered a well-timed pass to Castro, who poked it past Loach, and 3 minutes after the break a speculative free-kick from Mesut Özil sent Loach the wrong way with the young keeper only managing to get a trailing hand to the ball and allowing it to roll over the line. Cattermole saw his glancing header cleared off the German line in the 70th minute, and Wagner failed to connect to Özil's low cross in front of the England goal in the 76th minute, but 3 minutes later Özil fed Wagner who slotted the ball in through the legs of Scott Loach, and with 6 minutes left Wagner curled the ball beautifully past the diving Loach to cap a glorious night for the young Germans.

Full report from all the other 2009 under 21 matches

Lucio header wins the final for Brazil

Confederations Cup Final
28 June 2009 - South Africa

Brazil end the American dream
(Brazil 3 USA 2)
Brazil came from 2 goals down to win the Confederations Cup with 3 goals in the 2nd half against the USA. Clint Dempsey helped a Jonathan Spector cross past Julio Cesar in the 10th minute, and when Charlie Davies raced towards goal on the counter-attack and passed the ball to Landon Donavan, the American striker beat his marker with one swift move and dispatched the ball into the bottom corner to make another shock result a distinct possibility, but Brazil came out in the 2nd half with all guns blazing, and within a minute Luis Fabiano had turned the ball past Tim Howard to reduce the deficit. Brazil were unlucky not to be level on the hour-mark when Howard pushed a downward header by Kaka onto the underside of the bar from what looked to be behind the goal line, but in the 74th minute Kaka ran down the left side and fed Robinho whose shot came off the underside of the bar for Luis Fabiano to nod past the despairing Howard. With 6 minutes remaining Brazilian captain, Lucio, rose to meet a corner-kick with a decisive header which he steered in off the upright to give Brazil the 2009 Confederations Cup. Confederations Cup full match reports and pictures

Di Maria strikes gold in Beijing Argentina retain Olympic gold Saturday August 23rd Argentina 1 Nigeria 0 (2008 Olympics Final in Beijing) A single goal against Nigeria in the final was enough to give Argentina gold in the scorching Beijing heat. A through ball from Messi in the 58th minute fed Angel di Maria who lifted the ball past Nigeria keeper Ambruse Vanzekin to decide the match. Nigeria created very few chances and had to settle for silver as the midday sun took its toll. Brazil had won bronze a day earlier with a convencing but somewhat flattering 3-0 win over Belgium. In the women's final Carli Lloyd struck a powerful low shot past Brazilian keeper Barbara 6 minutes into extra time to win the USA another gold. Bajramaj scored both goals as Germany defeated Japan 2-0 for the bronze. More .... Spain win Euro 2008 Sunday June 29th Spain 1 Germany 0 (Euro 2008 Final in Vienna) Spain Reign in Europe A stylish Spanish side were crowned champions of Europe after beating Germany in the final of Euro 2008. Lehmann reacted well to save Metzelder from an own goal as he intercepted a low cross in the 14th minute and had to rely on luck in the 23rd minute as a header from Torres came off the inside of the post. Ten minutes later Fernando Torres showed strength, pace and accuracy to shrug off Lahm and dink the ball past Lehmann into the far corner of the goal. Ballack came close for Germany with a shot on the hour-mark, but Spain continued to create chances and Lehmann was forced to make a brilliant reflex save to push a free header from Ramos over the bar in the 67th minute with Frings clearing off the line to keep out Iniesta's shot from the ensuing corner. A cross in the 81st minute was headed back across the face of the German goal by Guiza, but the sliding Senna failed to connect. The final whistle marked Spain's biggest achievement since 1964. German women win World Cup again Germany queens of the world Germany 2 Brazil 0 ( Women's World Cup Final ) China September 30 Germany successfully defended their title beating the flamboyant Brazil 2-0 in the final. Brazil who failed to capitalize on their first half territorial supremacy, were punished in the second half when the deadly Birgit Prinz struck in the 52nd minute. Brazil were handed a lifeline but Marta saw her spot kick saved by the invincible Angerer. Simone Lauder put the cup beyond the reach of Brazil with a header in the 86th minute. Germany win the World Cup without conceding a goal in the entire tournament. USA 4 Norway 1 ( Third place play-off ) - USA claimed 3rd place in the world with a convincing 4-1 win over Norway. Abby Wambach deflected a Chalupny shot to wrong-foot the Norwegian keeper in the 30th minute and forced the ball over the line after it had come off the post at the start of the second half. Lori Chalupny (58) and Heather O'Reilly (59) put the match to bed before Ragnhild Gulbrandsen scored a consolation goal with a looping header in the 63rd minute. Asian Cup 2007 (Final) Iraq Conquer Asia Younes Mahmoud heads in Asian Cup winner for Iraq Sunday 29 July 2007 Indonesia Iraq 1-0 Saudi Arabia War-stricken Iraq showed unity and determination to win the 2007 Asian Cup, beating Saudi Arabia in the final. Iraq were worthy winners of this match allowing Saudi Arabia very few chances. Taiseer Al Jassam came closest for Saudi Arabia on the hour-mark forcing Noor Sabri into a flying save, but 2 minutes later Al Mosailem in the Saudi goal had to make 2 saves in quick succession to deny Younes Mahmoud and Nashat Akram. Younes Mahmoud scored the winner for Iraq beating the Saudi Keeper with a header at the far post from a well delivered corner in the 71st minute and could have netted another 5 minutes later, but failed to run the ball past the advancing Al Mosailem. In the remaining minutes Saudi Arabia could not pose any serious threats and the final whistle sealed a fairytale triumph for Iraq who lifted their first ever major trophy by winning the 2007 Asian Cup. Copa America 2007 (Final) Brazil lift the cup Brazil win Copa America 2007 Sunday 15 July 2007 Venezuela Brazil 3-0 Argentina Brazil retained the Copa America by beating Argentina in the final as they did 3 years ago. Baptista stunned Argentina in the 4th minute when he curled the ball into the top corner of the net. Four minutes later Veron set up Riquelme with a cushioned header, but he smashed the ball against the post. In the 35th minute Doni made a superb save diving to his left to deny Riquelme. With 5 minutes of the first half remaining, Ayala slid in to block a low cross and inadvertently turned the ball into his own net giving Brazil a two-goal lead at half time. Argentina failed to threaten Brazil's hold on the cup in the second half, and when Vagner Love slipped the ball into the path of Alvez he secured the result with a clinical finish in the 69th minute. Copyright © 2007 by Ziaian All rights reserved. Archive of Match Reports Africa Cup of Nations 2010 Confederaions Cup 2009 Africa 2008 International and national matches Women 2007 Copa America 2007 Asian Cup 2007 2007 UEFA under 21 World Cup 2006 Africa 2006 Euro 2004 . . .