A fan ran onto the field and tried to grab the World Cup trophy on Sunday, moments before the Spain and Netherlands players were due to walk out at Soccer City for the tournament's final.

The fan ran in from a corner of the stadium and raced across the field toward the halfway line, where the trophy had been placed on a pedestal for the players to eventually parade past.

He was tackled just before he could get his hands on the trophy and was carried away by seven security guards, taken up the tunnel and past the waiting players.

Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro, who last lifted the World Cup trophy as winning captain when his team won the title in Berlin four years ago, had carried the trophy onto the field in its Louis Vuitton case.

In the semi-finals, an Italian fan carrying a vuvuzela ran onto the field during Spain's win over Germany on Wednesday to protest the exclusion of a player from Italy's squad.

The fan entered the field near Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's net and sprinted almost to midfield before he was caught by security.

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