The first goal came after Brazil'sFelipe Melo headed on what was clearly a cross by Inter Milan midfielder Sneijder.

The technical study group (TSG) - including the likes of former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier - have ruled that he should be credited with the goal however, which made him joint top scorer along with Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina), Robert Vittek (Slovakia) and David Villa (Spain) before today's matches.

FIFA said in a statement: "Shots which are on target (i.e. goal bound) and come off a defender, or shots which rebound from the goal-frame and bounce off a defender or goalkeeper may be considered as an own goal, but in the instance of the Netherlands' opening goal against Brazil, the TSG have decided to credit the goal to the attacking player.

"Therefore, Netherlands midfielder Wesley Sneijder now has four goals so far in the 2010 FIFA World Cup."

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World Cup organisers are hopeful that Nelson Mandela will make a long-awaited appearance at the final in Johannesburg next week.

The former South African president, who turns 92 this month, is increasingly frail and has yet to appear at the tournament. He had planned to come to the opening ceremony but cancelled after his great-granddaughter was killed in a car accident on the eve of the first game.

Mandela has been following the tournament closely and sent a personal message to the Ghana squad ahead of their quarter-final against Uruguay.

An appearance by Mandela at the final at Soccer City would crown what has been an historic, and so far hugely successful, tournament for South Africa.

Mandela was instrumental in securing the World Cup for South Africa by visiting a number of FIFA executive committee members.

World Cup sponsors Sony are jumping on the Mandela bandwagon by hosting a "3-D Mandela tribute" ahead of his birthday on July 18.

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Diego Maradona's press conferences have become something of must-see event at this World Cup, if only to discover who he will offend next.

The Argentina manager attended one smoking a cigar, which is against FIFA rules, and rebuked a journalist for "the longest question ever" at another.

He then burst into the broadest of smiles when a woman from Al Jazeera asked the spikiest question of the week: "Do you think you have got here by false pretences?" A direct reference to the offside goal scored by Carlos Tevez against Mexico.

"I love to see a woman asking me a question," replied Maradona. At which point you suspect he lost the feminist vote.

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The electronic translation headphones packed in at the Green Point stadium at one German press conference this week, leaving reporters in the dark. No problem. "We can translate into English and Spanish," offered the German press officer. Fortunately communication was restored, but somehow you cannot see the men at the FA making a similar offer.

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Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson won plenty of admirers with his shot-stopping, but he clearly had done no homework whatsoever when it came to the penalty shoot-out.

Sebastian Abreu, the Uruguay striker who clinched the shoot-out with a penalty dinked over the keeper, is famed for taking spot-kicks in that fashion and did so to beat Brazil in the 2007 Copa America.

Abreu is nicknamed El Loco - the crazy one - but his coach Oscar Tabarez said: "It wasn't crazy, I call that class. He did that against Brazil in Copa America and the result was the same."

Such penalties are known as 'Panenkas' after Antonin Panenka scored one for Czechoslovakia to win the 1976 European Championship against Germany.