2026 FIFA World Cup Countdown: Nigel De Jong's Infamous Kung Fu Kick
World Cup Blog
81 Days to Go: De Jong Destroys Alonso … And Gets Away With It
The 2010 World Cup final – we all remember where we were. An estimated 910 million people tuned in to watch the game, turning their TVs up to full volume to ensure they were adequately deafened by the tournament's infamous hordes of vuvuzelas, with many thankful that this was the last game they would have to put up with such a racket.
On the pitch, Spain and the Netherlands were playing each other into a stalemate – it was a cool night in Johannesburg, a mere 14 degrees, and the players were clearly taking a while to get going.
But just under half an hour in, the blood of both players and fans warmed in the wake of a challenge made in the middle of the pitch by Nigel de Jong on Xabi Alonso.
At first, there seemed nothing in it – a simple case of a high boot and the recipient player going down a little bit too easily. However, thanks to slow-motion replays, those fans watching from home saw that it was anything but.
Crunch Time
Spain and the Netherlands had very differing paths to get to the final – the Oranje were the tournament's great entertainers, scoring seven and conceding four in the knockout stages alone, eliminating Slovakia, Brazil and Uruguay in the process.
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— Football Park (@FP_CentreCircle) March 14, 2026
Day 11: Van Bronckhorst's Semi-Final Belter
A 35-year-old left-back, captain of the national team, playing what could end up being the last professional game of his career – of course he had to steal the limelight.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's… pic.twitter.com/Ov6fJo5NRi
Wesley Sneijder had netted five goals in the competition, with four of these coming after the group stage, while Arjen Robben had proven himself to be equally as difficult to deal with, despite only starting his first game of the tournament in the round of 16
They were faced with a relentless, organised, unyielding Spain unit that had begun to specialise in grinding out results, winning all three of their knockout games against Portugal, Paraguay and Germany 1-0; their defence was virtually impassable, and their midfield of Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and Xavi ran rings around anyone put in their path.
In fact, Spain only scored seven goals across all seven games they played in their victorious campaign, preferring control and consistency over ruthless aggression and attempting to outscore their opponents.
It was the meeting of an unstoppable force and an immovable object – Spain had the upper hand in terms of raw quality, but the Netherlands boasted a staggering array of talent.
Arguably there were more iconic moments in the final than De Jong’s tackle – Iniesta's winner and Iker Casillas's save from Arjen Robben both spring to mind. However, the dire level of discipline throughout the game warrants attention, as, after all, it was (and still is) the dirtiest World Cup final ever played.
On this day, in 2010, Andrés Iniesta did this in extra time of the World Cup final. 🇪🇸🥶pic.twitter.com/2qtKmibqA9
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) July 11, 2024
More Than A Game
Over the course of 120 minutes of brutal, punishing football, 14 yellow cards and one red were shown, making it the worst-disciplined World Cup final in history – the remarkable thing is, those numbers could have been far, far worse.
Match winner Iniesta was lucky to even be on the pitch after escaping a second yellow card for a poor challenge, while De Jong’s midfield partner Mark van Bommel was lucky not to see a straight red for multiple reckless fouls made early on.
In all, an astonishing 47 fouls were made, more than one every two minutes. In part, this was down to Howard Webb’s refereeing – the English official refused to let the game flow, but given the nature of some of the earlier challenges, he was really left with no choice – he had to blow before something worse happened later in the play.
Netherlands
— SUPERB FOOTY PICS (@SuperbFootyPics) February 9, 2026
Great Picture Of Dirk Kuyt Mark van Bommel & Arjen Ribben pic.twitter.com/r8SYauink1
Dutch legend Johan Cruyff even denounced his own national team in the wake of their defeat, accusing their tactics of being “ugly”, “vulgar”, and "anti-football" – quite the criticism from a man who is without doubt the country's greatest ever player.
And no challenge summed Cruyff’s words up better than Nigel de Jong’s in the 27th minute. As mentioned, both the Dutchman and Alonso were challenging for a bouncing ball in the centre of the park, with the stunning golden Jabulani hanging at around head height.
Alonso dipped his head and nodded the ball away, and clearly, de Jong knew he was going to lose the duel ahead of time. However, the then-Manchester City enforcer wanted to leave a mark on his opponent, to let him know he was there in a bid to assert dominance.
But in all honesty, there are 100 better ways to do this than kung fu kicking your opponent in the chest.
De Jong came into the challenge at full pelt, clearly aiming for Alonso rather than the ball, which was already on the move to its next target, and with studs up and leg extended, he caught Alonso square in the sternum.
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— Football Park (@FP_CentreCircle) March 23, 2026
Day 19/100: Nigel de Jong's Infamous Kung Fu Kick
If you did this on the street of your local town, you would probably be arrested, and if you were wearing football studs, you wouldn't see the light of day for a long time.
Nigel de Jong… pic.twitter.com/tSKtNbR0Xw
The force of the impact temporarily suspended the Spaniard mid-air before he eventually went tumbling to the floor, his scream of pain completely warranted.
Weirdly though, the overall reaction of the players on the pitch did anything but indicate that De Jong had just attempted a WWE move on a football pitch – Sergio Busquets was the only player who took any sort of obvious exception to the tackle, and his complaints were quickly waved away by Webb.
After a few moments, Webb waved away the crowd that surrounded him and summoned over de Jong. The Dutchman must have been fearing the worst – regardless of the curious reception the tackle received, it was now completely down to how Webb had seen it, and he had been close by at the time.
However, instead of bringing out the red card, or even a yellow one, Webb gave de Jong a word, and play resumed. No one could believe it; possibly the worst tackle ever seen at a World Cup, and it had gone completely unpunished.
Of course, this was in a time before VAR, when referees were trusted to make split-second decisions going off what they alone had seen, and so human error was a natural part of the game. However, barely anyone could believe that Webb had let the Dutch midfielder escape unpunished.
In the years since, Webb has addressed the challenge and his decision, saying, 'Having seen the challenge again from my armchair, I would red card him. The trouble in the actual game was that I had a poor view of that particular incident.”
Recently, a similar challenge made in the Indonesian fourth tier went viral, with the offending player receiving a LIFETIME ban for a challenge that, in almost every respect, was identical to de Jong’s. The fact that one received a lifelong ban and the other received a strict talking-to quickly resonated on social media, and subsequently, I saw videos of de Jong’s tackle resurface.
😱 Meanwhile, in Indonesia's fourth division, a player has been BANNED FOR LIFE after this horrific challenge. ⛔️❌pic.twitter.com/InZzYOWBjV
— Sunday League (@SundayShoutsFC) January 10, 2026
In the end, the Netherlands would come to regret their dirty tactics – Johnny Heitinga was sent off in extra time, affording Spain a lot more space in attack, and eventually they made it count, with Iniesta’s 116th-minute goal being the World Cup-winning strike.
The Netherlands had been the architects of their own downfall, backing themselves into a corner of not being able to make tackles unless they wanted to risk more red cards.
It was tackles like de Jong’s that further increased calls for VAR, which in the modern day would never let a player get away with such a reckless tackle. However, the brutality of the challenge, the subsequent decision, and the match in which it occurred have seen the moment become iconic, admittedly for all the wrong reasons.
Louis Wheeldon 
