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This series of articles on the World Cup for CBCSports.ca began with a piece written in Uruguay, focusing on the social history of the game there and how it was appropriate that the final place in the World Cup had gone to the first winners.

The article took shape in my mind as I was wandering down Montevideo's main avenue in the middle of a big party, everyone celebrating Uruguay's qualification for South Africa. I had just come away from the Centenario stadium where, with a nervy few moments towards the end, Uruguay had held off Costa Rica. The home side had finished fifth in South America's World Cup qualifiers, and had needed a playoff against the fourth-place team from CONCACAF.

And now I bring the series to a close with Uruguay having reached the last four in the world, and given Holland a scare right at the end of Tuesday's semifinal match when some must surely have been dreaming of extra time, possibly penalties and the chance of a shot at glory in Sunday's big final.

From fifth in the continent to either third or fourth in the world - it's been quite a journey.

In fact, mixed in with the celebrations last November there was some real hope that this side, for all its problems in qualification, might be able to do something in South Africa. The optimism was based on the front partnership of Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, fire and skill personified, and the centre back combination of Diego Lugano and Diego Godin.

Those hopes have all been confirmed - indeed, expectations have been exceeded with the team reaching the semifinals. Perhaps they had the luck of the draw - South Korea and Ghana was not the hardest passage to the last four. But they earned a break after finishing first in what most people saw as the most even of all the groups, with France, hosts South Africa and Mexico as opponents.

They had to dig deep against Ghana, and there has been much moralistic outrage at the last-minute hand ball of Luis Suarez. Strange, I recall none of this fuss when Jack Charlton did a much more blatant version of the same thing for England in the semifinal of the 1966 World Cup against Portugal. He was not even sent off. Standards are higher these days.

It was a match where Uruguay were taking on a continent. Perhaps the sentiment of the occasion got to the referee. The marginal decisions all went Ghana's way. The free kick which led to the Suarez incident was an absurd refereeing error. Uruguay left back Jorge Fucile was yards away from a Ghanaian who slipped.

Still, Uruguay overcame the obstacles and got through. Rising to the occasion has long been one of their specialties.

It is no surprise, though, that the sky blues were not quite able to rise to the occasion against the Dutch. Those two combinations - Forlan and Suarez, and Lugano and Godin - both had been broken up. Suarez, of course, was suspended after his red card against Ghana. It would have been fascinating to see how he might have fared against a Holland back line with a tendency to play flat. And captain Lugano had limped out of the Ghana game with a knee injury, and had not recovered in time. He is not the quickest, but is a commanding figure at the back whose power in the air is especially important. He might have helped Uruguay prevent what turned out to be the winning goal - Dirk Kuyt's cross from the left which Arjen Robben soared to head home passed through the very zone that Lugano usually covers.

With other players missing - Fucile suspended and promising playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro injured - Uruguay did what they could. They picked a midfield of battlers, tried to press and be aggressive, and slip Alvaro Pereira to burst down the left whenever possible. Diego Forlan was once more expected to cover huge areas on the pitch - after another excellent display in what for him has been a superb World Cup, he inevitably tired and was substituted. Perky little striker Sebastian Fernandez might perhaps have come on earlier - he might have posed some interesting questions for the Dutch defence.

It is academic now, and there is little doubt that the best side won. With a 100 per cent record in the competition, the Dutch are worthy finalists. But as Uruguay scored that well-worked second goal, and staged a last do-or-die assault, I was on my feet hoping that they might have an extra five minutes to save themselves.

It was not to be. All journeys have to end somewhere.