Johannesburg - Uruguay will be looking to get closer to winning the World Cup for the third time when they meet Netherlands for the first semi-final encounter tonight.
The two sides have never drawn in their four previous meetings, with Uruguay claiming three victories over the Netherlands. The only Dutch victory over La Celeste was a 2-nil first round victory at the 1974 World Cup courtesy of a brace by Netherlands' all time top scorer in the competition Johnny Rep.
This will be the fourth time the Dutch have advanced to the last four of the World Cup although they have only played one semi-final before now.
Uruguay last reached the last round 40 years ago. In 1970, the two-time world champion slumped to a 1-0 defeat by Brazil in the semi-finals, before finishing fourth overall. Tonight's match will mark the 10th semi-final showdown in the history of the World Cup between Europe and South America.
Uruguay Coach Oscar Tebarez will also set a new record for the most world cup games as the team's coach. He moves one match ahead of Juan Lopez who steered Uruguay to their title win in 1950 and fourth place in 1954.
