Obviously a few soccer fans congregate here. I would like to ask a question as a USA guy not well-informed about soccer.
I watched several games before watching the Spain/Nederlands final so I knew a little bit about the way the game works. Perhaps not the nuances, but an overview anyway.
I came away from the final with the impression that the Spain side was far more aggressive than the Nederlands side, but that the Nederlands side was extremely effective defensively speaking.
I was reminded of the old "irresistable force, immovable object" problem. Spain appeared to be the irresistable force, always pushing into the Nederlands half of the pitch. Nederlands was ineffective in clearing the ball. Defensively, they seemed to resist the onslaught very well. The two sides were so evenly balanced that it took the second overtime period for a momentary opening to occur that allowed the game to be decided by play rather than by a series of penalty kicks.
As I said, that is what I took away from the game. Do the experienced soccer fans here agree with my opinion of what I saw?