The very fact that the world’s governing body of the beautiful game is thinking about eliminating draws at the World Cup really makes you think about how incompetent the heads of FIFA are. Sepp Blatter has made bad decisions before, but none that could seriously harm the game’s reputation like this one.

Sure, draws are never fun as an outcome, but they are a necessity when you consider the alternatives. Just think about how many games at this recently past World Cup could have been decided by a shootout. Does that really sound appealing?

A penalty kick shootout is a novelty in soccer – and hockey for that matter. If you’re going to use it decide games, you might as well just flip a coin instead. Games that you can play at a carnival shouldn’t be used to decide a game just for the sake of having a winner.

There’s a reason that the Golden Goal is no longer used either: It’s a terrible idea. The idea of sudden death works in ice hockey, but that’s just about the only sport it does in. The NFL is even making changes to their OT system to make it less sudden death and more fair.

The referees: There was Frank Lampard’s no-goal that was two feet over the line, Carlos Tevez’s strike that was clearly offside and a record amount of yellow cards in the final. The refs received a lot of heat and it was rightly deserved for their performance.

Team France: Infighting, players sent home, the team going on strike. This team brought shame upon a whole country with their antics in South Africa. I still have no idea why Raymond Domenech was allowed to handle this team without a contract and a replacement already named.

Team England: From Fabio Capello’s refusal to ditch an antiquated 4-4-2 that made no sense to begin with, to Wayne Rooney being off form to Robert Green’s huge flub, the English disappointed all over the field. John Terry might have been the worst of them all though and shouldn’t be consider even a good defender any more.

Team Italy: It might not be a legit disappointment since pundits were calling for bad things from the time the team was named. But with an easy Group, the Italians should have advanced. It’s just too bad the oldies didn’t show up.

African teams not named Ghana: South Africa became the first host to be knocked out in the group stages. Cameroon was the first nation officially eliminated. Nigeria, Algeria and Ivory Coast didn’t play more than three games. It was disappointment all around for the Dark Continent.

How Ghana lost: The African darlings were robbed of a spot in the semifinals by the worst handball ever perpetrated. When Luis Suarez put up his hands to grab the ball off the goal line in added-time, it outraged every non-Uruguayan in the world. It was the worst possible way for the underdog Ghanaians to be bounced.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Sure, he did at least manage to hit the back of the net, but it was a flukey goal against North Korea in a huge rout. Ronaldo was up to his usual whining all tourney long and couldn’t hit the net with nearly every kick he took. His best shot came in their first game, when he rattled the woodwork. He’s making a bad habit of not showing up at the big events.

Fernando Torres: Clearly off form and clearly injured, Torres had an awful tournament. It was perhaps typified best by pulling up lame in the final while chasing a lob. It was a fitting end for his 2010 World Cup. His thigh wasn’t the only he hurt, too. His transfer value has sunk so that now Chelsea is very much doubting a bid for the Liverpool striker.

Golden Boot tiebreaker: Why can’t there be a tie for the top goal scorer in the tournament? Thomas Mueller should have tied with David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan. A player’s amount of assists is no way to break a tie for goal-scoring leader.

Defensive, boring teams: This was most blatantly displayed by the Algerians in their final group stage game when instead of playing for a win by two goals, which they needed to advance, they played for a draw. It made no sense and robbed fans of a more exciting game, even if Landon Donovan won it on an added time break.

The vuvuzelas: I have no quarrels with the South African plastic instruments; I have a quarrel with people who complain about them non-stop. This is a part of the host’s culture and should not be quieted because some foreigners complained about them ruining the broadcasts. Calling for a ban of them would have been an ignorant one and I’m glad they weren’t silenced. Even if they sounded like a swarm of bees.

Golden Ball – If David Villa, Wesley Sneijder or even Xavi or Arjen Robben had put on a better showing in the final, they could’ve earned this prestigious honour, but really, Diego Forlan truly deserved it. He was marvelous in leading an underdog Uruguay team all the way to the semifinals. His five goals also tied him atop the leaders as well. He proved that his success in Europa League with Athletico Madrid was no fluke and could’ve earned himself a lot of money on the transfer market if he decides to move on.

Golden Boot – While I don’t agree with using assists as the tiebreaker for the Golden Boot, I can see how FIFA might not want a tie for the award. Thomas Mueller’s three assists to go with his five scores earned him the award and puts him among the world’s goal-scoring elite. He should be a key component for Germany and Bayern Munich for a long time. In fact, he could easily step in to start for the club at right wing if they decide to sell the overrated – in this tournament at least – Franck Ribery.

Golden Gloves – Iker Casillas kind of won this one by default. Nobody really stood out between the pipes and Casillas strung together a nice run of clean sheets after Spain’s opening loss. I’d credit his defensive line a bit more than him though; he was nothing special, but still probably the tourney’s best. Germany’s Manuel Neuer played almost as well and certainly could have taken this if he played the third-place game.

Young Player – When you win the Golden Boot and are only 20-years-old, you’re a lock to be the young player of the tournament. Thomas Mueller played incredibly, well beyond his years, and was a true leader for the Germans.

RTP’s World Cup XI, plus some subs.
GK: Manuel Neuer,  Germany — Distributed the ball like no other and was generally great in net. Had to deal with more than Casillas.
D: Philipp Lahm, Germany — Great moving forward down the right side while providing much needed leadership on a young team.
D: Carles Puyol, Spain — Despite looking shaky during the final, had an outstanding tournament and scored the winner over Germany.
D: Diego Lugano, Uruguay — Helped hold the line and made Fernando Muslera look good for the entire Group Stage.
D: Fabio Cointreau, Portugal — As much as I hate the Portuguese, they only allowed one goal in the tourney and Cointreau was a revelation going down the left side.
M: Thomas Mueller, Germany —
M: Xavi, Spain — When you break the record for most passes in a World Cup, quite handily too, you deserve a XI nod. The true man behind Spain’s precision passing game.
M: Wesley Sneijder, Netherlands — Carried the load while Robben was out and tied for the Cup lead in scoring.
M: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany — It was great to see him wear the captain’s armband in the third-place game. If not for Lahm and Michael Ballack, he would be a shoo in to continue to lead his country. He had a great Cup playing a terrific holding role and a true leader on the field.
F: Diego Forlan, Uruguay — He was the tournament’s best player. Outstanding in close or from distance, with his right foot or left. An absolute revelation.
F: David Villa, Spain — Quite simply one of the best scorers there was. Carried Spain up front while Fernando Torres bombed.

Bench:
Richard Kingson, Ghaha – One of the main reasons for Black Stars run. Definitely will find a club this fall.
Landon Donovan, United States – The American hero was great in his role on the wing.
Asamoah Gyan, Ghana — Despite the missed penalties, had an outstanding tourney for underdog Africans.
Maicon, Brazil – Scored one of the goals of the tournament against North Korea and was solid on the back line too.
Per Mertesacker, Germany — One of the cleanest defenders you’ll ever see. Never caught out of position.
Arjen Robben, Netherlands — Despite missing two games, he was still a Golden Ball candidate. That says something about how vital he was to the Dutch.
Ryan Nelson, New Zealand — Who would have figured that in the end, New Zealand would be the lone undefeated team? Their captain was an impressive leader.

And check back later for the biggest disappoints of the tournament. That’s right, the World Cup may be over, but we’re not done yet.

For a team with so much talent, they weren’t very convincing in any of their wins and really played a plodding and methodical style of play that seemed very un-Spanish. This was a team that supposed to excite with their amazing skill, but for all of their passes and possession, they didn’t create a ton of legitimate chances. In fact, the best chances were had by the Dutch.

Twice Arjen Robben was put in on goal but couldn’t convert. The second time, he was clearly impeded by Carles Puyol, who should have received a second yellow card, or even a straight red for clumsily trying to take down Robben on his break.

The referee’s decisions and the amount of times he pulled cards from his pocket will surely be a topic of type for a time to come. Sure, the Dutch played a very physical game, but 14 yellows and a red in the World Cup final is not something that should happen. Harold Webb may be a world-class official, but he was off his rocker on Sunday. He made himself the spectacle of a game and that should never be the case with an official; let the players play.

So, with month-long tournament coming to a close, we’ll now have to wait two more years until the next big soccer tournament to grace our presences: Euro 2012. It looks like we’ll have to get by on healthy doses of club football until then.

We’ve seen all sorts of highlights and all sorts of lowlights, but those are for another time, right now, we have a possible classic on our hands. When Spain meets Netherlands Sunday two European powerhouses will be vying for their first title. The Dutch haven’t been here since 1978 and the Spanish have never made it this far – their semifinal game against Germany was their first at that stage too.

The Dutch have been the hottest team in the world for a while now. They may not be playing the Total Football style their nation made famous in the 70s, but they are playing winning football. After going undefeated in qualifying, they’ve now gone undefeated at the World Cup. They have shown that despite their incredible offensive talent, they can also defend when called upon. Their keeper, Maarten Stekelenberg, in fact, has been touted as the best of the tournament. So much for missing Edwin van der Saar, right?

Wesley Sneijder has been playing at the same incredible level that he was with his club, Inter Milan, on its way to winning three titles this past season. It’s hard to believe that he would miss out on winning the Golden Boot if the Netherlands come through in the final.

The Netherlands have overcome a lot too. For as long as can be remembered, this was a squad that supposedly hated each other and was unable to perform as a unit. Even after a yelling match between Robin van Persie and their coach on the sidelines after a substitution, this team gelled as a unit and went on to beat pre-tournament favourites Brazil.

On the other side, the Spanish come in as the reigning European champions and look to grab a double that hasn’t been achieved since France in 2000 and 2002.

Perhaps the deepest side in the world, the Spanish can trot out a ‘B’ squad and still compete with most countries. Case in point is Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas coming off the bench because Andres Iniesta and Xavi are just too good to be left off the field. The Barcelona duo is amazing with their passing and at creating chances for their forward, who are no slouches at all.

David Villa could be the goal-scorer in the world and Fernando Torres is incredible as well, even though he has clearly been off his game – perhaps carrying an injury – through this whole tourney. Villa is another player up for the Golden Ball and with a goal, should take the Golden Boot as well.

Torres poses an interesting dilemma for the Spanish though. While he has been awful thus far and a detriment to the team, but as they say: “Form is temporary, class is forever.” So can he really be kept off the pitch? I’d say the answer is quite clear: Keep the same side that played against Germany, with Torres on the bench, ready to come in as a second-half sub. Why risk him in a game this big?

So, to make a pick for the biggest game of them all, I’ll have to go with the team that has the big game experience: Spain. They have been through this pressure cooker before and it’s hard to believe that a younger team like The Netherlands can handle this.

But, if one thing is for certain, it’s that we will be treated to lovely game of football. And in the end, isn’t that what everybody wanted in the first place?