Spain wins first-ever World Cup title

Spain wears the World Cup Champion Red shirts

story by AP/Fox Sports

Spain's place among world football's all-time greatest teams was assured Sunday when Andres Iniesta scored with four minutes of extra time remaining to beat the Netherlands 1-0 and clinch his country's first World Cup.


With the teams facing a penalty shootout after an often ill-tempered game of few clear chances, Iniesta collected a sliding pass into the area from substitute Cesc Fabregas and smashed the ball across goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and in at the far post.


The goal clinched Spain's fourth straight 1-0 victory in South Africa and made the team only the third to be world and European champion at the same time.


At the final whistle, the Spanish players hurried to swap their blue shirts for their more familiar red colors in time to collect the trophy. They donned shirts decorated with a single gold star to mark their triumph, becoming the eighth nation to receive the honor in the tournament's 80-year history.

"It was a very difficult game but we have some fantastic players who knew how to respond to the problems," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said. "They had a few chances but we had clear ones. We owe this to a great group of players."

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