Viva ESPANA!

The whole of Spain erupted with joy as the national side reached the World Cup final for the first time ever with a 1-0 win over Germany - and the fiesta looked set to last all through the night.

"It's over! We are in the final of the World Cup! It's historic, what joy!" shouted a commentator from the television channel La Cuatro as the final whistle went.

"It's not a dream, Spain is in the final!" the Madrid daily ABC said on its website.

A cacophony of firecrackers, vuvuzelas, car horns and cheers rang out across Madrid, where Spanish red and gold flags adorn balconies, roofs and bars.

Thousands of ecstatic fans sang and waved flags outside Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium where the match was broadcast on giant screens.

The crowd shouted "Yes, yes, yes, this year, yes!" and "I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish!" to celebrate the win, which takes Spain into the final against Holland on Sunday.

"We're euphoric, we deserved to win," said Julia, 17.

Spain "opened up the match" and "had far more chances than Germany," said Juan Sierra, 17.

Spain "dominated the match and in the second half the German team was already tired, and with the changes we made we were fresher," said Tomas Vasquez, a 41-year-old father who was watching the game with his son.

Carles Puyol's 73rd-minute goal was greeted with red smoke from firecrackers.

The city was earlier gripped with excitement and anticipation ahead of what sports newspaper AS said was "the match of our lives".

The streets were empty ahead of the game as residents rushed home or into bars to watch the game.

Police also set up barriers around the fountain in the Spanish capital's Plaza Cibeles, where Real fans traditionally celebrate their victories.

Almost all towns and cities throughout the country installed giant screens for people to watch the match.

One notable exception was in Barcelona, the capital of the nationalist-minded region of Catalonia, even though seven players in Spain's starting line-up for Wednesday's game are from the Barcelona team.

"The best team, Spain, qualified for the final," radio Cadena Ser said on its website.

The Catalan daily La Vanguardia said "Spain achieved world glory" by beating Germany so easily.

But while most people in Spain were ecstatic, one corner of the country was in despair, as tens of thousands of German tourists in a Majorcan beach resort were left with broken hearts.

Cries of "Nein!" (No!) erupted throughout Playa de Palma, a traditionally German resort in the Balearic island, as Puyol scored.

But after the final whistle, glum faces and a few moments of stunned silence were quickly followed by music, including a German version of "Viva Espana!", fireworks and more glasses of beer.

"We lost to Spain in Euro 2008, now we've lost to them in the World Cup. Twice in important matches is too much," complained Judith, an 18-year-old German tourist in the Deutsche Eck (German Corner) bar and restaurant. "Now we have to at least beat Uruguay for third place," she said, a garland in Germany's red, yellow and black colours round her neck.

"If we'd had (suspended player Thomas) Mueller, we wouldn't have lost," said her boyfriend Pierre, also 18, wrapped in a German flag.

In sweltering heat, Germans crammed into overflowing bars and restaurants along the Playa de Palma beach to watch the match.

Majorca is nicknamed 'Germany's 17th Land' because of the millions of tourists from that country who visit every year.

MADRID, AFP

[Spain-Factfile]

Results

First round
June 16 At Durban
Switzerland 0-1

June 21 At Johannesburg
(Ellis Park) Honduras 2-0

June 25 At Pretoria
Chile 2-1

Second round
June 29 At Cape Town
Portugal 1-0

Quarter-final
July 3 At Johannesburg
(Ellis Park) Paraguay 1-0

Semi-final
At Durban Germany 1-0

*******

Scorers
5 - David Villa
1 - Andres Iniesta,
Carles Puyol

World ranking: 2

Previous appearances

1934 - quarter-finals, 1950 - fourth, 1962 - first round, 1966 - first round, 1978 - first round, 1982 - second round (hosts), 1986 - quarter-finals, 1990 - second round, 1994 - quarter-finals, 1998 - first round, 2002 - quarter-finals, 2006 - second round

Record win
- Bulgaria 6-1 (1998)

Record loss
-Brazil 1-6 (1950)

Key players

Xavi (Barcelona) - brain of team who pulls midfield strings with pinpoint passing and master at retaining possession

Andries Iniesta (Barcelona) - England star Wayne Rooney rates the attacking midfielder who loves to dribble the best footballer in the world David Villa (Barcelona) - winner against Paraguay raised goal haul of new Barca signing to five and made him joint leading scorer at tournament

Captain - Iker Casillas
Coach Vicente del Bosque

Squad - (figure indicates shirt number)
1 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) GK
2 Raul Albiol (Real Madrid) DF
3 Gerard Pique (Barcelona) DF
4 Carlos Marchena (Valencia) DF
5 Carles Puyol (Barcelona) DF
6 Andres Iniesta (Barcelona) MD
7 David Villa (Barcelona) ST
8 Xavi (Barcelona) MD
9 Fernando Torres (Liverpool/ENG) ST
10 Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal/ENG) MD
11 Joan Capdevila (Villarreal) DF
12 Victor Valdes (Barcelona) GK
13 Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia) ST
14 Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid) MD
15 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) DF
16 Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) MD
17 Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid) DF
18 Pedro (Barcelona) ST
19 Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao) ST
20 Javier Martinez (Athletic Bilbao) MD
21 David Silva (Valencia) MD
22 Jesus Navas (Sevilla) ST
23 Pepe Reina (Liverpool/ENG) GK