With just four minutes of extra-time remaining, substitute Fernando Torres slid over a cross from the left which was partially cleared as far as Cesc Fabregas and his pass found Iniesta lurking in the area.

The Barcelona star promptly set his sights and fired past Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

Five minutes earlier, the Dutch were down to 10 men when referee Howard Webb red-carded John Heitinga for a foul on Iniesta.

A niggly game saw a proliferation of yellow cards and missed chances at both ends - most notably in the first period of extra-time when Spanish substitute Fabregas raced onto a pass from Iniesta only to see Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg block his shot.

Then fellow substitute Jesus Navas looked odds on to score but his shot deflected off Giovanni van Bronckhorst and hit the side-netting.