by Darren Walsh

The match won’t be over until 12.45am.  This better be good.

According to Alan Hanson, this is “Brazil vs Brazil”.  In that case, how are we going to find a winner?

Finally, some sense.  Tim Vickery is interviewed outside the stadium on the subject of the protests in Brazil.

Hanson seems to be picking out David Luiz as the weak link in the Brazil defence; hasn’t mentioned Ramos on the other side though.  On the plus side, he’s said something I agree with for once; that Hulk is massively overrated.

Top notch singing of the Brazilian anthem, as the whole team belt it out like Tony Adams at his most patriotic.  They also do it without any music for some of it.

I had heard during the Italy-Spain semi-final that Howard Webb couldn’t ref the final since it would be a South American official in charge.   It turns out that they’ve picked a European one after all; I imagine that Howard is feeling a little peeved.

Mark Lawrenson with a positive point to make as the game starts; if he’s enjoying himself then you know the tournament must be good.

First minute and one high cross crosses mayhem in the Spanish defence; Fred stabs it into the net while lying on the ground.

Arbeloa does his best Willie Young impersonation to bring down Neymar when Brazil break from a Spanish corner; stops a one on one chance in exchange for a booking and a free kick on the halfway line.

Casillas with a one on one save from Fred that will be mentioned as vital should Spain end up winning.

Lawrenson invokes the term “metronome” for one of the Spanish players; it’s amazing how quickly it became an overused word to describe a decent midfield passer.

Straight after Pedro has a clear chance cleared off the line by Luiz, Brazil double their lead when Neymar receives the ball on his left foot and crashes it in at the near post to send the Maracana into raptures.

Just a minute into the second half, and Brazil have ended the game as a contest; Fred finds the bottom corner of the net for his second and Brazil’s third.

Needless challenge from Marcelo on Jesus Navas to lead to a Spanish penalty; Sergio Ramos assumes duty and fires it wide.  When things go wrong……

Another Brazilian counter attack, and Pique decides to just forget the ball and clear out Neymar instead.  Not the first professional foul we’ve seen tonight, but this one gets a deserved red card.

A few top saves by Julio Cesar to keep Spain’s scoresheet blank, while Brazil could have had a few more if they made the extra pass.

They really are stretching out this ceremony.  First Iker Casillas picks up the runners up trophy, they Neymar for third top scorer, then Fred for second, then Torres. We also have the goalkeeper award for Julio Cesar.  Finally we get to the medals, then Thiago Silva lifts the trophy.

So that’s Spain’s first competitive loss in 29 matches, almost three years’ worth.  Just like Barcelona, they’ll be written off as a spent force, while Brazil will head into their World Cup build-up with renewed confidence.