Spain coach Vincente Del Bosque must be scratching his head.

He has a small dilemma ahead of his country’s semi-final super-clash against Germany – and it comes in the form of a certain dynamic blond-haired Liverpool striker.

Fernando Torres has well and truly struggled for form in South Africa and there is great debate as to whether he should be gifted another spot in his team’s starting eleven, or make way for an extra midfielder.

The latter just may prove to be the case as Arsenal talisman Cesc Fabregas impressed in his last display as a substitute against Paraguay – but even he is reported to be under a minor injury cloud.

Torres has been unable to regain the same rich vein of form that his has shown in the past for his country and at club level.

He may still be hampered by his latest injury-plagued season and subsequent surgery, and one questions whether the Spanish coaching staff should continue to persist with him from the match’s onset.

But Del Bosque knows that his squad’s current unhealthy reliance of star striker, David Villa, may prove their undoing and a player like Torres just may prove to be the X-factor that is needed against the in-form Germans.

German coach, Joachim Low, has a small headache of his own – as he attempts to find a substitute for the suspended Thomas Muller.

The versatile Bayern Munich youngster has genuinely surprised many with his scintillating form during the World Cup and has quickly become one of world football’s shining lights – scoring four goals in the campaign thus far.

Low has a triad of attacking options to possibly fill the gap in Gomes, Cacau and Trochowski, but it remains to be seen if the same fluid cohesion between Muller and his teammates can be emulated.

As usual, a lot of Germany’s form will ride on the shoulders of midfielders Ozil, Podolski and Schweinsteiger, complemented by veteran striker Miroslav Klose.

The latter has seemed reinvigorated by the wealth of quality youngsters surrounding him and has put a season of poor club form behind him to once again showcase his elite striking ability – needing only two goals to surpass Brazilian Ronaldo’s record for most World Cup goals in a career (15).

The meeting between these two nations does also hold a bit of modern history, with Spain defeating Germany in the Euro 2008 final.

Below is a video of the match’s only goal – Torres’ winning strike (will it be replicated?)

Semi-final 1 Result:

Netherlands defeated Uruguay 3-2

The Dutch managed to fight off a late, spirited comeback to claim their first World Cup final appearance since 1978.

The entertaining game was given an amazing start in the 18^th minute when stalwart Giovanni van Bronckhorst sent a blistering strike from 40 yards into the back of the net, gifting the Netherlands an early lead.

But Uruguay clawed back an equaliser when striker Diego Forlan curled a strike past the fumbling Dutch goalkeeper, Maarten Stekelenburg, and again prompted the question, ‘is Forlan the best jabulani-specialist in the sport?’

But after half-time, it was the Dutch that raced away.

After a couple of great chances went unrewarded, the deadlock was finally broken when a Wesley Sneijder effort was deflected off Uruguayan wing-back, Maxi Pereira.

Then a beautiful cross from Dirk Kuyt was met with a quality header from winger, Arjen Robben, to double the Netherland’s lead and seemingly grant the Oranje one foot in the final.

But when Uruguay’s Maxi Pereira took control of a quick free-kick in stoppage-time and sent a curling shot in the back of the Netherland’s goal, it brought upon a frantic couple of minutes for the Dutch defence as the Uruguayans threw everything up forward.

When the referee finally blew his whistle after what seemed like a more-than-generous amount of stoppage time, the Dutch players celebrated in delight.

Their ticket to the final has been booked. Now they only can watch as their opponent is decided...