Shame about the final. In years to come Holland manager Bert van Marwijk will doubtless rue his decision to send out his side to try cynically to kick Spain out of their imperious stride, culminating in a match with 14 yellow cards and a red for Dutch defender John Heitinga.

If we did not know before, we did then. It was not a vintage World Cup. It did not have the Brazilian brilliance of 1970, the Argentine mastery of 1986, nor the host nation dominance of France 1998.

But nor was it a bad World Cup. It was not the flat affair which some English critics have argued, mostly on the back of the Flag of St George being lowered prematurely.

True, it began as a slow burner, the group phase struggling to ignite with too few goals and too little adventure. But World Cups almost always are like that and the critics who carped jumped the gun.

At least they did when you consider the drama which was to unfold.

Such as the French farce which saw Nicolas Anelka sent home following a half-time row with coach Raymond Domenech against Mexico after which the striker refused to apologise.

Then there was the sight of Italy also packing their bags after a defeat by Slovakia, the second-half of which was as thrilling as football gets.

There was the feelgood story of New Zealand earning their first points at a World Cup and going home as the only team unbeaten with three draws, plus the broken dreams of the host nation falling in the first round despite their first-ever victory against France.

And, of course, there was the Frank Lampard goal which got away against Germany, the ball striking the crossbar, crossing the line by two feet but going unseen by the officials.

How long is football going to put up with being held to ridicule for dragging its feet where other sports such as cricket and rugby have shown the way? Technology works. It does not spoil sport. Often it enhances it. And while FIFA president Sepp Blatter muttered noises about looking at bringing in goal-line technology we should believe it when we see it.

We could say much the same about an England team capable of emulating the boys of '66. Fabio Capello's side were truly dreadful in South Africa. Dubious tactics, talk of mutiny, desperate displays against the USA and Algeria and a 4-1 defeat against Germany which, despite the miscarriage of justice over Lampard's effort, was as pitiful as it was passionless.

The real Wayne Rooney simply never turned up. Neither did the real Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal, the real Lionel Messi for Argentina, nor the real Kaka for a sterile Brazil side who were perhaps the biggest disappointment of the tournament. Football's biggest stars all fell to earth, weighed down by the burden of expectation.

It was left to the likes of Uruguay'sDiego Forlan, who deservedly won the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best performer, to demonstrate attacking adventure, Spain'sGerard Pique to show what cultured defending is all about and Holland'sWesley Sneijder to marry the art of play-making with goal-scoring.

Do not let anybody tell you there were no stirring games.

USA v Ghana, Uruguay v Ghana, Holland v Brazil, Paraguay v Spain, Slovakia v Italy all came into that category.

Note the double presence of Ghana, the last standing African nation who were denied becoming the continent's first-ever semi-finalists by Uruguay'sLuis Suarez, who handled the ball on the line and then celebrated in the players' tunnel as poor Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty.

It was a crime against the spirit of football, no doubt, but if we were to list all such misdemeanours we would need to ensure our ink cartridge was fully loaded.

A mention for Germany, whose young side promised to go all the way playing the most exciting football of all, and providing a potential snapshot of life at Brazil 2014, until ambushed by Spain in the semi-final.

But when it came down to it the title of champions at South Africa 2010, after the ugliest of finals, went to the best footballers by a distance and the best team Spain have ever produced.

That is how it should be. Excellence should win out. Beauty over cynicism. Despite the final scar, that was this World Cup's greatest triumph.