Spain vs Netherlands — South Africa 2010

Andrés Iniesta's 116th-minute volley delivered Spain's first World Cup crown and capped a tiki-taka era of complete dominance, but the final itself was a grinding chess match—Spain completed 62% of possession while the Netherlands committed 28 fouls and received 14 yellow cards (a record for a World Cup final). This win over #6 Italy 1970's final was far narrower in margin (1-0 vs 4-1), yet Spain's defensive discipline (just two goals conceded in the entire knockout stage) proved resilient. The Dutch came within seconds of triumph when Arjen Robben's 82nd-minute breakaway was denied by Iker Casillas's outstretched foot—intervention that required a save of 0.23 seconds reaction time. Spain's average pass sequence length of 5.4 passes per possession outstripped the Netherlands' 3.1, showing how tiki-taka suffocated counterattacks. Iniesta's winning strike, struck with his right foot from 12 yards, was his third shot on target of the tournament—and the only one that mattered. The 2010 final's 1-0 scoreline tied the lowest-scoring final since 1994, but its dramatic back-and-forth and Iniesta's moment of genius earned it a deserved place among the greatest.