RODRIGO ARANGUA
Germany's exciting young team came from behind to win third place in a scintillating clash with South America's best performer Uruguay that was the perfect appetizer for Sunday's World Cup final.
Still absorbing the crushing disappointment of their semi-final defeats, Germany and Uruguay made sure their third place playoff on Saturday night was no irrelevant sideshow before Spain and Netherlands go for the main prize.
Both teams flew at each other from the off at Port Elizabeth, defying the miserable rainy conditions.
Sami Khedira's late headed goal gave Germany a 3-2 victory after they had come back from 2-1 down in a ding-dong, end-to-end game. Both Uruguay's Diego Forlan and Germany's Thomas Mueller netted one to go joint top of the scorers' table.
They reached five goals, together with Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder and Spain's David Villa who have an opportunity to better that on Sunday evening at Johannesburg's Soccer City.
Forlan's volleyed goal was typically spectacular for him. Then he nearly equalized with a free-kick in the last second of the match that struck the bar and symbolized the game's drama.
"It just missed by a fraction," lamented the blond-locked striker who has won legions of new admirers with his brilliant performances in South Africa. He and teammates will also rue the goalkeeping errors that aided two of Germany's goals.
"I'm pretty tired but it's over now and it's time to have a rest," Forlan added after the game.
Unfortunately for Uruguay, striker Luis Suarez was booed every time he touched the ball by Africans in the crowd who remembered bitterly his handball on the line that denied Ghana a certain goal and a place in the semi-finals.
Suarez's new "Hand of God" was hailed as a heroic and instinctive act at home, but many Africans saw it as cheating.
As well as for coming third, German coach Joachim Loew's team will be long remembered for their four-goal dismemberings of Argentina, England and Australia in earlier rounds.
Germany also took third place at the last World Cup which they hosted in 2006. "We've done well here but next time we want to get to the next level," said Saturday's match-winner Khedira.
Spain have been gathering fans galore in the host country due to their slick passing football.
From kids imitating striker Villa in Soweto township, to bankers drinking in Johannesburg's upmarket Sandton district, most locals seemed to think Spain had glory coming on Sunday.
Bookmakers, journalists and pundits worldwide were also overwhelmingly tipping Spain to win their first final.
The Dutch, though, have won their last 14 World Cup games, including qualifiers, and will be quietly confident their own skillful players can match Spain's famous midfield maestros.
Netherlands have an abundance of attacking talent, but Spain have struggled to get anyone on the scoresheet other than Villa.
England had a miserable World Cup, but they at least have a referee representing them in the final.
Howard Webb, 38, is the first Englishman to handle a World Cup final since 1974 -- much to the surprise of his wife.
"He can't take charge of his own children. I don't know how he manages it on a football pitch!" Kay Webb told GMTV.
Some 14 African presidents and other global VIPs galore will be at the final. Queen Sofia of Spain and outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will lead support for their teams.
Fit again to join them is UEFA president Michel Platini. He fainted in a Johannesburg restaurant but was discharged from hospital on Saturday and given a clean bill of health.
Everyone hopes South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela will attend on Sunday. But he is in frail health at 91 and his office has not confirmed if he will make it or not.
There have been mercifully few hiccups for organizers of Africa's first World Cup, confounding pessimists' predictions of chaos, crime and failure.
South Africans hope the world will look at them differently, perceptions of crime, poverty and an apartheid past giving way to images of fantastic new stadiums, modern transport systems, and blacks and whites side-by-side during a trouble-free month.
South African President Jacob Zuma was full of praise for his people's enthusiastic contribution to the tournament.
"The committed support given to Ghana and other African teams displayed African unity, love and solidarity in practice," he said in a statement on the eve of the final.