JOHANNESBURG: Spain will meet the Netherlands on Sunday in Johannesburg’s Soccer City when a new champion will be crowned from two sides seen for decades as the nearly-men of international soccer.

Spain killed off Germany with a single goal in a pulsating World Cup semi on Wednesday to set up a final with the Netherlands where a new winner of soccer’s biggest prize will be crowned.

A 73rd minute flying header by defender Carles Puyol from a perfectly placed corner settled one of the best matches of the tournament, in which the ball swung from end to end and Germany mounted waves of desperate attacks in the final minutes.

The Netherlands beat Uruguay 3-2 on Tuesday to reach their first final since 1978.

The result in Durban was a repeat of Spain’s 1-0 victory against Germany in the Euro 2008 final and will mean a European team will now be crowned world champions outside Europe for the first time, at Johannesburg’s cavernous Soccer City stadium.

Spain and the Netherlands are two of the best sides never to have won the trophy, but that will all change — for one of the teams — on Sunday.

Spain, who looked less impressive earlier in the tournament than the high-scoring Germans but have gradually improved, produced their best performance to beat their young opponents.

“Players from defense to attack were extraordinary and played a great game. We have another game to play… Holland represent the values of Dutch football very well and they’ll be very tough rivals,” said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.

In Spain’s earlier matches, striker David Villa’s killer instinct in pouncing on any chance had brought them victory but today he was frequently stifled by German defenders.