Germany edge Uruguay to claim third place

Sami Khedira's 82nd-minute header earned Germany a 3-2 victory in a rousing and rain-soaked World Cup third-place play-off match with Uruguay here on Saturday.

The Stuttgart midfielder rose to nod the ball beyond Fernando Muslera after Uruguay failed to clear a late corner, while Diego Forlan was inches away from a dramatic equaliser with an injury-time free-kick that struck the crossbar.

Forlan rounded off an impressive individual showing at the tournament with a brilliantly-taken volley to give Uruguay a 2-1 lead early in the second period, only for Marcell Jansen to restore parity moments later.

Millions in illegal W.Cup bets seized in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police have seized 35 million US dollars worth of illegal betting slips during the World Cup, with that figure expected to soar ahead of this weekend's final, a report said Thursday.

Since the global tournament kicked off last month, police in the financial hub have launched a series of raids that netted the arrests of at least 55 illegal bookmakers and hauled in about 270 million Hong Kong dollars (35 million US dollar) in betting records, the South China Morning Post said.

The betting figures are an almost four-fold increase from the 2006 World Cup when police seized gambling slips worth 74 million Hong Kong dollars.

Hong Kong police did not immediately respond to the report.

In a joint operation last month, mainland Chinese police arrested at least 45 people and confiscated 44 million Hong Kong dollars' worth of betting slips in the nearby southern industrial city of Shenzhen.

Punters in Hong Kong, a football and horse racing-mad former British colony returned to China in 1997, can bet legally on a variety of sports events including the World Cup through the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Loew hails Spanish masters

Germany coach Joachim Loew hailed Spain as masters of the football universe and expressed confidence that they would beat the Netherlands in Sunday's World Cup final.

Despite his frustration at his side's failure to reproduce the kind of form with which they swept past England and Argentina in earlier rounds, Loew paid a gracious tribute to the quality of Spain's passing game and accepted they had deserved their 1-0 semi-final victory on Wednesday.

"Of course we are disappointed, as you inevitably are when you lose a semi-final," said Loew.

"But we have to congratulate the Spanish team. They played very well and over the last two or three years they have been the most skilled team of all.

"They showed that tonight with the way they circulated the ball very quickly and we were not able to reproduce the kind of play we did in previous matches.

Viva Espana! Spain euphoric at semi-final win

The whole of Spain erupted with joy as the national side reached the World Cup final for the first time ever with a 1-0 win over Germany -- and the fiesta looked set to last well into the night.

"It's over! We are in the final of the World Cup! It's historic, what joy!" shouted a commentator from the television channel La Cuatro as the final whistle went.

A cacophony of firecrackers, vuvuzelas, car horns and cheers rang out across Madrid, where Spanish red and gold flags adorn balconies, roofs and bars.

Thousands of ecstatic fans sang and waved flags outside Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium where the match was broadcast on giant screens.

The crowd shouted "Yes, yes, yes, this year, yes!" and "I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish!" to celebrate the win, which takes Spain into the final against Holland on Sunday.

Dutch joy as 32-year wait ends

Elated Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk fulfilled a 32-year dream on Tuesday by steering his team into the World Cup final for the first time since 1978.

It was a long time coming but Van Marwijk said the wait was worth it.

"Of course I am very, very happy and proud that such a small country is in the final of a world championship, it is hard to comprehend," he said after his team overcame Uruguay 3-2.

"It is something I started working on two years ago and I always said that to achieve something you really have to believe in it and do it. It's been a long process."