(CNN) -- Spain won the World Cup for the first time in its history as an extra-time goal from midfielder Andres Iniesta gave his country a last-gasp 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final at Soccer City.
The showpiece game of the South Africa-hosted tournament on Sunday was littered with no less than 13 yellow cards and one red but was settled by a moment of magic by the Barcelona man after he was played in by substitute Cesc Fabregas.
His 116th-minute strike was the goal all Spaniards were waiting for and spared both sides the agony of deciding the new world champions by penalties.
The breakthrough came after the Dutch had been reduced to 10 men, following Johnny Heitinga's dismissal in the second half of extra time by referee Howard Webb for a foul on Iniesta.
