These are my favourites at least and in no particular order.

1) Tshabalala scores the first goal in the World Cup

Not the best goal of the World Cup, but a good one and in the list for the moment.

2) The Luis Suarez handball

A true Marmite moment as Suarez denies Ghana a winning goal. Hero or Villain? You decide.

3) Frank Lampard’s ‘goal’

The goal that was never given and ended England’s hopes against Germany. Shocking decision, classic moment.

4) Maradona misunderstands a press question

Just look at his face! Something lost in translation there, methinks…

5) Portugal 7-0 North Korea

The biggest win in South Africa and Portugal’s only really good performance…even given the opposition.

6) Robert Green ends his England career

I might be exaggerating, but this definitely set the tone for England’s disastrous World Cup campaign.

7) French implosion

No one video can do this bizarre set of events justice, but France’s implosion was as remarkable as it was ridiculous.

8 ) Gio van Bronckhorst’s last ever goal

Assuming he HAS now retired, this isn’t a bad way to go out. If you ignore losing the World Cup final, of course…

9) South Africa’s pre-match singsong

They might not have been good enough to get through the group stage, but South Africa were excellent hosts and a breath of fresh air. Here’s one reason why.

10) The winning goal from Andres Iniesta

Can’t leave out the goal that won it all, can I?! Lovely.

Those are the highlights from the 2010 World Cup for me. What are yours? Let me know in the comments.

Not by any stretch of the imagination was last night’s World Cup final a classic but in the end the best team won. Spain have not been explosive at any stage, but their patient style of possession football has nevertheless been a pleasure to watch and they fully deserve their 1-0 victory.

In match winner Andres Iniesta and the incomparable Xavi they have the best midfield duo in the world, more than ably spearheaded by David Villa, so often the team’s hero in this tournament.

The Dutch, on the other hand, have been criticised, quite unfairly I think, for being too defensive, too negative and not holding true to their Total Football roots.

They have adjusted their style under Bert van Marwijk, yes, but they have had to. Total football has won them little and I don;t think it’s very fair to criticise a side that has made necessary changes to try and win the big one. They have still been entertaining, if in a less skilful manner than we’re used to.

Last night was a different story though. Last night they went from solid to cynical in the face of Spain’s superior passing ability. Mark van Bommel was lucky to still be on the pitch at half time after a series of dangerous tackles, not least on Iniesta, but it was Nigel de Jong’s studs up kick to the chest of Xabi Alonso that really deserved a red card.

Holland have subsequently blamed England’s World Cup final representative Howard Webb for the way he refereed the match but for me that’s just sour grapes. Yes, he showed a record 14 yellow cards and one red – to centre back John Heitinga for a a second bookable offence – but the Dutch left him with little choice as he tried hard to keep things reaching boiling point.

That’s not to say Webb didn’t make mistakes, he did, but in the face of Holland’s wild challenges and the occasional act of retaliation from Spain I thought he did a good job under very difficult circumstances. For me, he (and his team) can look back on his season with pride having taken charge of both the Champions League final and the World Cup final and acquitted himself well in both.

Back to the good stuff, what little of it there was. Arjen Robben was excellent throughout the game, creating or being on the end of all Holland’s chances. The most notable chance fell to him after a brilliant pass from the unusually subdued Wesley Sneijder sent him clean through on Casillas. His shot was well saved by the Spanish keeper with his foot, however.

Spain’s passing was again good to watch but the Dutch, bad challenges aside, were doing a cracking job of pressuring the ball and making sure they weren’t, as many commentators have described it, “passed to death”.

Not at any point did Spain panic though, having complete confidence in themselves, their ability and their tactics. After 90 minutes with the score still at 0-0 you did get the sense that it was only a matter of time before Spain got their breakthrough. That it took until the 116th minute is a credit to Holland.

When it did come it underlined Spain’s superior football. Fabregas, on for Xabi Alonso in the 87th minutes as Spain looked for more attacking options, found himself in space on the edge of the 18 yard box. His ball into the box found Iniesta who had started the move from his own half only seconds earlier.

The midfielder’s first touch to control the ball was excellent and the finish past Mark Stekelenburg was of equal quality. He was booked for removing his shirt to reveal a tribute to Dani Jarque who died during pre-season training in Italy last year. A price worth paying, both for the goal and the message – “Dani Jarque is always with us”. Check it out.

At the other end of the pitch Iker Casillas was having a blinder, saving well from Robben three times, while Stekelenburg also had a good game, though he could do nothing about Iniesta’s winning goal.

Overall it was a poor game but that wasn’t Spain’s fault, it was Holland’s. Their tactics were spot on, spoiling the Spanish passing all night, but the over the top tackles ruined it and inevitably cost  them when they went down to ten men. From there on there was only going to be one winner and so it proved. Thoroughly deserved, Spain are now reigning world and European champions.

Holland can take heart however, they are a much improved side and will challenge for the European Championship in Poland and the Ukraine in 2012, as will a young and improving Germany. And who knows, maybe even a resurgent England? Nah…

The third place play off was a much better game, as I suggested it might be, Germany finally winning it 3-2 with an 82nd minute goal from Sami Khedira. Despite taking the lead in the 18th minute via tournament Golden Boot winner Thomas Muller, Germany found themselves 2-1 down after 51 minutes as Uruguay looked to end their impressive tournament on a high, scoring through Cavani and player of the tournament Diego Forlan.

Jansen equalised for Germany before Khedira’s late winner. It was tough on Uruguay but like Spain in the final, Germany were the better side overall in this match and deserved their third place. They are going to be one hell of a side in a couple of years and I’m tipping them now to lift the European Championships.

Whether or not Holland lift the World Cup for the first time on Sunday, captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst will hang up his boots after a long and illustrious career.

Gio, as he is affectionately known, has not only captained his country to the World Cup final but has lifted two Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish FA Cups, and a Scottish League Cup with Rangers, an English Premier League title and two FA Cups with Arsenal, two La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups and the Uefa Cup with Barcelona and two KNVB Cups with current and final club Feyenoord.

Could he cap it all with a World Cup winners medal? There’s no doubting he deserves it.

Here’s some of his best bits right from when he was a kid. Enjoy.

I’ll be doing a full review of both semi final matches tomorrow, but for now…you gotta see these!

Giovanni van Bronckhorst scores a beauty from 35 yards to give Holland the lead against Uruguay

Diego Forlan equalises in slightly less spectacular fashion – but still good!

Germany get a measure of revenge for 1966 and Argentina just continue on beating whoever is put in front of them, despite having a madman in charge.

All in all, it was an unsurprising day at the World Cup. It is English nature to feel utter despair at a defeat (or insipid draw against supposed useless nations) and utter elation and belief we’re the best in the world after any victory of any kind at an international tournament.

It should come as no surprise then, that Fabio Capello, the England players and every England supporter everywhere (including me, as hard as I tried to let head rule heart) expected a victory over the vastly superior Germans. Hope and expectation count for nothing on the football field, however, and England were duly dumped out of the World Cup, almost with disdain.

England will hide behind the fact that they were denied an obvious goal when Frank Lampard hit a screamer from distance which bounced down well behind the goal line but wasn’t seen by the only people that mattered, the linesman and the referee, who waved play on. I mean…LOOK AT IT!

The scoreline, of course, was already 2-1 thanks to Miroslav Klose and Lucas Podolski and what turned out to be consolation from Matty Upson. England will feel rightly aggrieved – don’t we always? – while the Germans will feel justice is now done, as they still believe Geoff Hurst’s goal in the 1966 World Cup final didn’t cross the goal line in similar fashion. It did, though, so shut up.

Thomas Muller scored a quickfire two goals in the 67th and 70th minute to round off the rout. Poor defending and a lack of craft up front contributed to England’s demise in what has been an appalling World Cup campaign. They will return home with their tails between their legs, no doubt to public ridicule and Capello will bear the brunt of the press massacre.

I’m not sure that’s all that fair – we’re just not good enough and the so-called “Golden Generation” is more brass then precious metal – but he must take his share of the criticism for poor tactical decisions and team selection. Where the FA go with Capello and the future of the national side is anyone’s guess, but there are few options available right now.

Germany, meanwhile, progress as one of the tournament favourites, no doubt boosted by inflicting England’s heaviest defeat at an international tournament. Argentina await in the quarter finals and will prove a much tougher test.

A 3-1 victory over Mexico – who have gone out in the last 16 for the 5th World Cup in a row – saw Maradona’s men through.

Not that this game wasn’t without controversy of its own. Mexico shaded the first half, but Carlos Tevez’s opener should have been ruled out for offside as he was yards off when nodding home from Lionel Messi’s delivery. The goal, on 25 minutes, disrupted the concentration of Mexico and just eight minutes later Higuain scored his fourth goal of the tournament, picking up a loose Osario pass on the edge of the box, rounding the keeper and slotting home.

Tevez put the icing on Argentina’s cake with a screamer into the top corner from long range before new Manchester United signing Javier Hernandez notched a consolation for the unfortunate Mexicans. Check out the Tevez goal, another contender for best goal of the World Cup.

They didn’t deserve the scoreline but the result was, on balance, a fair one as Argentina are clearly in with a chance of winning the World Cup – despite rather than because of having Maradona in charge.

For my part, I spent the afternoon in a beer garden in the country with the girlfriend and her daughter, following the England-Germany game via the boos and cheers from inside the boozer. When the second half kicked off and there was no more noise from indoors I knew I wasn’t missing anything. England, sadly, are missing much but the World Cup is not going to miss them.