( CNN ) -- Giovanni van Bronckhorst hopes that his dream will come true when he leads the Netherlands out against Spain in Sunday 's World Cup final -- the last match of his distinguished career . The 35-year-old announced before the South African tournament that it would be his swansong , and earned his 100th international cap in the opening Group E victory against Denmark last month . On Tuesday , his spectacular long-range strike helped his team reach the final for the third occasion with a 3-2 victory against Uruguay on Tuesday . The defender now has the chance to help the Dutch lift the trophy for the first time , something that the star-studded team of the 1970s failed to do after losing in finals in Germany and Argentina . `` My last match turns out to be the match that I dreamed of , '' he told reporters , as quoted by the UK Press Association . Dutch legend Cruyff backs Spain to win . `` It is wonderful that I have the opportunity to win the World Cup as my final stop , far better than dying in the group stage . `` Everything has converged at just the right moment . It is fabulous that this World Cup will be the pinnacle of my work . '' Van Bronckhorst , who began his career as a midfielder , made his name with Feyenoord before leaving his native country for spells with British clubs Glasgow Rangers and Arsenal -- the latter of which was blighted by injuries . He moved to Spain in 2003 as Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard took him to Barcelona first on loan and then in a permanent deal , transforming him into a left-back . Van Bronckhorst won the Champions League in 2006 before returning to Feyenoord a year later , when current Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk made him captain of his boyhood club . Van Marwijk has kept faith with the player since taking over from Marco van Basten as national coach following Euro 2008 , which was won by Sunday 's opponents Spain . Van Bronckhorst will come up against several of his former Barcelona colleagues in the Johannesburg title decider , including midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta plus inspirational defender Carles Puyol . `` I still have contact with them . I used to share a room with Carles before Barcelona games and we saw a lot of each other away from the football club , '' he said . `` We have actually already been on the phone offering each other best wishes , and it will be nice to say goodbye on Sunday face-to-face . `` But my boyhood dream is something more important , so they will have to make do with a silver medal this time . ''
World Cup final is final match of career for Netherlands captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst . The 35-year-old announced before tournament that it would be his swansong . Van Bronckhorst, who has been in charge since 2007, will not take part in the last two matches against Ghana and Ivory Coast because he needs to rest up after a long season with club side AZ Three former Barcelona teammates will oppose him in the Spanish line-up .