DURBAN, South Africa — Joachim Loew could have said what everyone expected.

Germany's boyish coach could have made excuses. He could have blamed his players or his ill-conceived game plan for his team's loss.

Instead he simply said what everyone already knew.

"Spain was just better than us tonight," Loew confessed. "Over the past two or three years Spain has been the most skilled team of all. They are masters of the game."

Spain made history Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over Germany, advancing to its first World Cup final. It will face the Netherlands on Sunday.

"We want to make more history in the final," midfielder Sergio Busquets said. "For sure it's going to be really difficult. But that's what we intend to do."

Waiting for Busquets and the rest of the Spanish team is the Netherlands, another country with a checkered World Cup past that includes just about everything but a title. Which means the first World Cup in Africa will include a first-time winner.

And Loew, departing from expectations again, made no secret of how he thinks that match will go.

"I am fairly confident," he said, "that Spain is going to win the title."

Before Wednesday, many were saying that about Germany. But with Spain playing keep-away all night, the Germans' potent attack, one which leads the tournament with 13 goals, never got on track.

"We can say Germany wasn't as good as we thought they'd be today," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said. "But that is due to the excellent performance of our team. Bottom line is we played better than expected."

And Spain is expected to play very well. It is, after all, the European champion, a team that was ranked No. 1 in the world as recently as March and one that had a record-tying 35-match unbeaten streak as recently as last year.

Much of that was accomplished the same way Wednesday's victory was — by controlling the midfield, applying relentless pressure and getting off nearly three times as many shots as its opponent.

In the end, though, only one shot mattered, and it came from an unexpected source in the 73rd minute. The goal that will be among the best-remembered in Spanish history came off the head of defender Carles Puyol, who entered with two goals in 88 career games with the national team.

His latest came on a magnificently designed play, one that started with a Xavi corner kick. Puyol began at the edge of the penalty area and charged in to meet the ball with a well-timed leap. The momentum helped drive the ball past German keeper Manuel Neuer and into the upper-right corner of the net.

kbaxter@tribune.com