No more underachievers

In defeating Germany,1-0,in Wednesdays semifinal,Spain finally unyoked itself from the burden of being considered soccers chief underperformer a team that possessed beauty but not sufficient toughness in reaching the final for the first time.

Holding nerve

No one can question Spains sturdiness and poise now,not after it won the 2008 European championship and kept its nerve in this tournament while winning three consecutive games by 1-0 in the knockout round. La Furia Roja is now at its hardiest,not most vulnerable,in the taut moments,having built a stunning record of 48-2-3 since 2007.

Wednesdays victory came on a headed corner kick in the 73rd minute by center back Carles Puyol,a man whose ringlet curls belong on a 1970s Farrah Fawcett poster. If his tresses are outdated,though,his instinct and timing are exquisite. On the corner kick by Xavi,Puyol rushed forward from the top of the penalty area and his head struck the ball like a fist from 10 yards.

Much of the beauty of the semifinal was in its struggle. Eventually,Spain prevailed with a gorgeous selfishness. It took the ball and refused to give it back,not in the ungenerous way of a petulant child but as a mesmerising and professional monopolist.

Without possession,Germany could not unfurl its counterattack. Even when it won the ball,it lost it again quickly in a thicket of legs in midfield. Xabi Alonso was an able obstructionist,even if his aim was not as sharp as his tackling. And Xavi was magnificent in circulating the ball like a viral e-mail message. Unable to score quickly as it had in smothering England and Argentina,Germany lost its daring and bravado.

There wasnt the courage,the 100 percent confidence,to complete a run, said Joachim Loew,the German coach. It is extremely difficult to win the ball back. Thats what makes it so difficult. Every team playing against Spain has to work very hard.

In the end,familiarity and experience prevailed over emergent youth. Germany had won many fans with its multiculturalism and up-and-coming stars like Mesut Özil and Thomas Müller. But Müller was suspended on Wednesday and his team lost some verve and spontaneity in his absence.

Meanwhile,Spain played with an ease that came from having six starters from Barcelona,including Xavi and Puyol and Andres Iniesta,whose effort earned the corner kick that provided the decisive goal.

Beforehand,there had been some suggestion that Spain had not sufficiently altered its lineup since the 2008 European championship,that it might be susceptible to the assurance and energy of this budding German team. Far from stagnant,though,Spain appeared to be at the peak of fluency and intimacy,each player in harmony with the others.

They have been pretty much unchanged the past two or three years, Loew said of Spain. It was quite obvious tonight. They play in a fairly automatic way. Im pretty confident Spain will win the title. When they want,they can be very dominant. They are the masters of the game. You can see it in every pass. Take how Barcelona plays. They can hardly be beaten. They are extremely confident and very calm in the way they circulate the ball.

On the rise

Spain remains ascendant in a number of international sports. Its basketball team won the 2009 European championship,and Pau Gasol has just won a second N.B.A. title with the Los Angeles Lakers. Rafael Nadal has triumphed a second time at Wimbledon. And Alberto Contador is chasing a third title in the Tour de France.

You see this country has changed enormously, Vicente del Bosque,Spains coach here,said. We are in the world. We are in Europe. We are privileged citizens to have so many sportsmen. Football is the locomotive for all sports. We have been waiting so many years to have such success. I believe Spain deserves to be triumphant. Its national soccer team won the 1964 European championship and went 44 years without another major title. The World Cup became a succession of frustrating and premature exit in the second round at home in 1982,on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals in 1986 and 2002. Spain never advanced as far as the semifinals until this year. By 2008,it had become the first team ever ranked No. 1 in the world without having won the World Cup.

So what is the difference now? The 2008 European championship. We also beat Germany 1-0. It brought confidence, Iniesta said on Tuesday. And,he added,The collective interest is beyond individual interest. And so on Wednesday,del Bosque found it necessary to bench his most visible star,forward Fernando Torres,who has struggled to regain his form after recent knee surgery. Pedro,another player from Barcelona,started in his place. Nothing,though,came easy.

David Villa,who was tied for the tournament lead with five goals,had an early shot smothered and missed by inches sliding onto an inviting cross from Iniesta. Xabi Alonso blasted three shots with power but without accuracy. Finally,it was left to Puyol,who only had to outjump another Barcelona teammate,Gerard Piqué,to slam the ball home on the decisive corner kick.

Not since France in 1998 has a first-time champion been crowned. Spain has a 50-50 chance on Sunday.