Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk's biggest gamble was keeping an injured Arjen Robben in his World Cup squad and it paid off handsomely after the winger recovered in time to help steer the Dutch to the final.
As Vicente Del Bosque's high flying La Furia Roja side get ready to take on Bert Van Marwijk's industrious and effective Oranje at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday, rediff.com takes a look at a few players who can make a difference to the eventual outcome.
Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk put himself in the same bracket as coaching greats Rinus Michels and Ernst Happel when his team beat Uruguay 3-2 on Tuesday to reach their first World Cup final since 1978.
Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk believes Uruguay's passionate approach should serve as an example for his team when the sides meet on Tuesday in the first World Cup semi-final at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. Van Marwijk revealed on Monday that before one of the first Dutch matches of this campaign he has used the South Americans as an example of how to play matches at this level.
Netherlands striker Robin van Persie was taken to hospital on Saturday for a scan on an arm injury three days before their semi-final with Uruguay in Cape Town, coach Bert van Marwijk said.
Netherlands striker Robin van Persie's petulant reaction to his substitution in their World Cup second-round victory on Monday could be the first hairline crack in the united front so far presented by the squad.
Skipper Mitch Marsh almost single-handedly guided Australia to a two-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in second semi-final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, just outside Christchurch, on Wednesday. After dismissing Sri Lanka for 205 in 48.2 overs, the Aussies faltered in the run chase, losing regular wickets, before eventually getting across the line with 10 balls to spare at 206 for 8.
For the first time in 26 years -- since the World Championships began -- the United States was toppled in the category it excelled in all these years.
Australia won the Under-19 cricket World Cup, beating Pakistan by 25 runs in the final at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, New Zealand, on Saturday.
Australia and Pakistan go head to head in a battle of former champions in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2010 final at Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Christchurch, on Saturday, with both the sides aiming to become the first country to win the tournament three times.
Houston-based biotech firm awaits FDA approvals on its new drug for lung cancer treatment.
game of rugby and some fielding and batting drills comprised the strenuous three-hour workout that the Indian team went through ahead of the series against New Zealand that kicks off with a Twenty20 match on February 25. The visitors practiced at the picturesque Bert Sutcliffe grounds.
Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is making a brief Dutch comeback for this month's World Cup qualifiers. Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk included Van der Sar, who retired from international football after Euro 2008, in his 22-man squad for the Group Nine games against Iceland in Rotterdam on October 11 and away to Norway four days later. Goalkeepers Maarten Stekelenburg of Ajax and Feyenoord's Henk Timmer, who is in the squad, are both nursing injuries.
Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has declined an offer from Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk to make a comeback for the national team.
Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has declined an offer from Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk to make a comeback for the national team.
Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan has posed nude for the latest issue of New York magazine, recreating Marilyn Monroe's most famous photo spreads.
Aviva Life Insurance, a joint venture between UK's biggest insurer Aviva and Dabur, has roped in master blaster Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador and named its new child insurance policy after the cricketer's title - Little Master.
World champions India will clash against hosts Australia in their first warm-up match of the ICC World Cup 2015 in Adelaide on February 8 before they take on minnows Afghanistan at the same venue two days later.
AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has dismissed complaints about a Nigel de Jong tackle during Tuesday's friendly match against Bayern Munich by saying that "football is not ballet."
Rain forced the abandonment of Monday's cricket World Cup warm-up match between New Zealand and Zimbabwe.
India scraped to a three-wicket victory in the third game of the five-match series.
Tim Cahill would love nothing better than to join the select company of Pele, Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose by finding the net in a fourth World Cup over the next few weeks but first the Australian actually needs to get on the pitch.
Put in to bat, India were restricted to 157 for 7. New Zealand chased down the total in 28.2 overs.
Rediff reader Reshma Aslam tells us how to make a sandwich tasty!
Less than a week into the Olympics and people are looking tired around Rio de Janeiro.
The Auckland Aces fast-bowler has been cleared fit to play after fracturing his right thumb in Sri Lanka last month and will join Blackcaps teammates Tim Seifert and Colin Munro in the 12-man squad.
The VAR penalty that helped France defeat Australia in their World Cup opener was the 'strangest' moment of Mile Jedinak's career, the Socceroos captain said on Sunday.
Maranatha Christian College banned the books about the boy wizard saying it promotes witchcraft as normal.
Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio will be involved in the new Formula E electric racing series as a co-founder of the Monaco-based Venturi team that has secured the 10th and final entry.
'People sitting in the stands need to know what the rules are. Who is refereeing the game? We need to know. People deserve to know what are the rules of the game and the game belongs to the people.'
Saudi Arabia coach Juan Antonio Pizzi described a "feeling of shame" after his side suffered a 5-0 hammering at the hands of hosts Russia in the World Cup's opening game at the Luzhniki Stadium on Thursday.
South Korea were left with plenty to ponder ahead of this month's World Cup finals after Edin Visca scored a hat-trick to give Bosnia and Herzegovina a 3-1 victory in a friendly in Jeonju on Friday.
Images and summary of all the World Cup 2022 qualifiers played across continents on Tuesday.
A stunning Andre Carrillo volley gave Peru their first World Cup goal in 36 years before captain Paolo Guerrero grabbed a second as the Andean nation condemned Australia to a 2-0 defeat in Sochi on Tuesday and an early exit from Russia.
India and Australia are clubbed together in Group B along with Zimbabwe and East Asia Pacific qualifier Papua New Guinea, an ICC release read on Wednesday.
Scotland pipped Kenya to secure their third World Cup appearance on Thursday while United Arab Emirates (UAE) also booked their ticket for next year's marquee 50-over tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Australia captain Mile Jedinak hammered in a 38th-minute penalty for handball awarded by the VAR to draw the Socceroos level at 1-1 with Denmark at in their World Cup Group C match in Samara on Thursday.
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