Nearly a month, 62 matches and tens of thousands of vuvuzelas bleats later, the World Cup is down to two title contenders: Spain and the Netherlands will meet in Sunday's final at Soccer City.
Spain's veteran central defender Carles Puyol soared high in the 73rd minute from a corner to head into the German net after a tight, technical and gripping game. Puyol's goal was the only one of the match against a Germany team that could not sweep aside its opponents as it had done with previous opponents.
The Netherlands booked its final spot a day earlier with a 3-2 win over Uruguay at Cape Town.
With 28 of the original 32 teams now out of South Africa - Uruguay and Germany will play in Saturday's third-place match at Port Elizabeth - the 19th edition of the World Cup is down to two glamorous European sides each trying to win the title for the first time.
Spain has struggled throughout the World Cup but found its confidence in Durban, playing an intricate, short passing game that eventually ground down the Germany midfield.
"From defence through to attack I think we played a great game," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said. "We've got another game in front of us, let's see if we are able to control the ball. We're in good shape physically, so let's see if we can win."
Germany coach Joachim Loew paid credit to Spain. "In the last two or three years they have been one of the best and most united teams," Loew said. "They move the ball well and we couldn't play the way we like to play."
Plane chaos
Five planeloads of football fans headed for the match experienced long delays landing at Durban's King Shaka international airport, forcing some of the fans to miss the game or be late. Four planes from Johannesburg and one from Cape Town were initially refused permission to land after the airport was swamped by arrivals, airport spokesman Bongani Maseko said.
All the passengers were eventually allowed to land and given a police escort to the stadium, though too late for many fans to see any of the match.
