Live commentary: Netherlands - Costa Rica 4:3 (World Cup 2014 Brazil, Quarter-finals)

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Slideshow World Cup 2014 Brazil Quarter-finals, Netherlands - Costa Rica

Netherlands	Saturday, 5. July 2014 21:00 Clock	Costa Rica
	4:3 pso

goals
none

Penalty shootout
0 : 1	Celso Borges scores
1 : 1	Robin van Persie scores
---	Bryan Ruiz misses
2 : 1	Arjen Robben scores
2 : 2	Giancarlo González scores
3 : 2	Wesley Sneijder scores
3 : 3	Christian Bolaños scores
4 : 3	Dirk Kuyt scores
---	Michael Umaña misses

120'		Fulltime Summary: That's it, the Netherlands win the penalty shootout and proceed to the semi final! Van Gaal's unusual move to substitute his goalie for the penalties proves to be quite clever afterwards. If Tim Krul hadn't already had the image of a penalty killer, he clearly would've gained it tonight, after foreseeing the right direction on all five penalties and parrying two of them. Holland dominated the game for about 120 minutes with 64:36% possession and and had plenty of chances - namely 20:6 attempts from which 15:3 went on target - to score the winning goal. The even hit the woodwork several times, but had no luck in converting at least once. The Ticos focussed on defending right on the beginning, but also tried to attack for a few times. Although the Central Americans did a good job in the defense, all in all they were just too harmless and maybe should've instead tried to play more offensively, despite of Holland being strong at counterattacking. On the one hand, van Gaal's team weren't able to pressure their opposition steadily before the 82nd minute. On the other hand they didn't convert their scoring opportunity and therefore lacked a lot of efficiency. While the Ticos can bid farewell and still be proud of themselves, the Elftal have to improve in the semi final if they want to proceed to the final.
120'		Full-Time
120'		missed a penaltyCosta Rica -> Michael Umaña Now it's all or nothing! Umaña shoots onto the same corner as Kuyt did, but Krul is able to parry!
120'		Penalty scoredNetherlands -> Dirk Kuyt The Fenerbahçe doesn't try to aim high, but rather aims for the bottom right corner of the goal. Navas chooses the right direction, but can't prevent the ball from finding the back of the net.
120'		Penalty scoredCosta Rica -> Christian Bolaños Similarly to his forerunner, Bolaños shoots onto the top left corner and converts!
120'		Penalty scoredNetherlands -> Wesley Sneijder Sneijder fires the penalty into the top left corner and scores the 3-2!
120'		Penalty scoredCosta Rica -> Giancarlo González Krul tries to make Gonzáles insecure, but the Costa Rican is able to convert!
120'		Penalty scoredNetherlands -> Arjen Robben That's how you shoot a penalty! Robben aims for the top left corner and converts without any difficulties!
120'		missed a penaltyCosta Rica -> Bryan Ruiz Why are all of them trying to shoot into the bottom right corner? Ruiz does so and fails to beat Krul, who again jumps into the right direction.
120'		Penalty scoredNetherlands -> Robin van Persie Van Persie basically does the same as Borges and his converts, too!
120'		Penalty scoredCosta Rica -> Celso Borges Borges converts with a low shot into the bottom right corner! Krul jumps into the same direction, but can't get the ball in time.
120'		Penalty Shoot-out
120'		Second Half of extra time ends
120'		Van Gaal actually replaces his goalkeeper! Lets see if Krul is able to rescue the Netherlands.
120'		Substitution (in) Netherlands -> Tim Krul
120'		Substitution (out) Netherlands -> Jasper Cillessen
119'		Sneijder hits the woodwork for a second time! This time the playmaker shoots from about 18 metres, but his shot bounces off the bar. Robben gets the rebound, but his shot is blocked.
117'		Again the Ticos have an attempt! Ureña manages to get through and shoots from the right corner of the six-yard-box, but Cilessen makes a great save.
115'		Costa Rica have their first attack in extra time! Ureña loses the ball against de Vrij, but the rebound is collected by Bolaños, whose shot is deflected for a corner. But it comes to nothing.
113'		Van Gaal tells second Tim Krul to warm-up, maybe the former Bayern Munich head coach is planning on replacing his goalie for the penalty shootout?
111'		Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Netherlands) is shown a yellow card Huntelaar is booked for a challenge against Navas. The Schalke 04 striker unintentionally streaks the keeper's face with his ellbow, so it's not wrong to show him a yellow card. Still, it seems a little bit to hard, since it's Huntelaar's first foul and other players weren't booked for worse fouls earlier in this game.
109'		Will we see one of the teams score a goal or will Costa Rica manage to defend the 0-0 until the end of extra time? Slowly but surely it would be highly deserved for Holland to score the lead.
107'		Johnny Acosta (Costa Rica) is shown a yellow card Acosta commits his third or fourth foul and this time he is booked for his body check against Robben. But the Netherlands can't convert the following free-kick from the right edge of the box.
106'		Play resumes and van Gaal substitutes Martins Indi with Huntelaar. The Dutch head coach replaces a defender with a striker and thereby sends a clear sign to his team. Maybe he should've brought in Huntelaar earlier.
106'		Second Half of extra time begins
105'		Halftime Summary: Although Costa Rica did a really good job so far, they're not really a match for Oranje since they can't createa any chances at all. One has to accuse the Elftal of being not effective enough, since they had plenty of chances to score the leading goal. Instead we're going into the last 15 minutes before the winner has to be decided by a penalty shootout.
105'		Substitution (in) Netherlands -> Klaas Jan Huntelaar
105'		Substitution (out) Netherlands -> Bruno Martins Indi
105'		First Half of extra time ends
105'		Acosta has a cramp in his left calf, but it looks like he can continue to play.
103'		At least Robben corrects Irmatov's mistake and shoots the ball right into the wall.
102'		That's the next wrong decision made by the ref! Holland have a free kick from about 20 metres distance after Díaz blocks the ball with his shoulder. Obviously this is not a hand ball.
100'		Guess who's offside again? Right, it's van Persie...
98'		Why did Pinto criticize Robben when his own players are diving at every opportunity? Ureña should be booked for his pathetic attempt to get a penalty kick.
97'		Now Cubero's allowed to participate! The midfielder is substituted for Tejeda. So now Jorge Pinto has taken all his substitutions.
97'		Substitution (in) Costa Rica -> José Cubero
97'		Substitution (out) Costa Rica -> Yeltsin Tejeda
94'		The Elftal have their next great attempt! Robben swings in a corner from the right and finds Vlaar, who makes a header onto the floor. The ball bounces onto the top left corner of the goal, but Acosta is able to clear with a bicycle kick, although he nearly misses the ball.
91'		That's a wrong decision! Robben is found with a long ball and could convert the counterattack. But he's ruled offside although he's onside. But it's a really close call, so there's no reason to criticize the assistant referee.
91'		Kick-Off extra time
90'		Second Half Summary: What a thrilling final stage! The Elftal almost scored the 1-0, but instead the match goes to extra time. Van Gaal's team stayed dominant, but didn't offer a convincing performance in the second half. This made things easier for Costa Rica, who still focussed on defending rather than scoring a goal. This was due to Holland not increasing the pressure for a long time. It took up to the 82nd minute until they did so, with Sneijder having one and van Persie even three great chances.
90'		Second Half ends
90'		What do we have here?! First, van Persie shoots a free-kick from the left hand side and Navas punches it away. But the Netherlands stay in possession and send in a low cross from the left. All of the Oranje players miss the ball, but van Persie is able to collect it on the right corner of the six-yard-box! His shot is deflected by Tejeda's feet, standing on the goal line, and bounces off the interior of the crossbar.
90'		Well it's now or never... or in extra time. Oranje get four additional minutes of stoppage time to avoid going to extra time.
88'		Robin van Persie is really having a bad hair day! He misses a great cross from Sneijder at the rigt corner of the six-yard-box, otherwise it surely would've been the 1-0 for the Dutch.
86'		Will we go into extra time or will the Netherlands again score the late winner? Only time will tell...
84'		Holland increase the pressure! This time van Persie's onside and manages to shoot from the right corner of the six-yard-box. But Navas is able to punch it away!
82'		Sneijder hits the woodwork! He shoots the free-kick directly onto the top near corner and it's only the left post preventing the Galatasary playmaker from scoring! The ball bounces back into the box and to Robben, but the winger is challenged and loses the ball.
81'		Giancarlo González (Costa Rica) is shown a yellow card González commits a foul against against Robben and tries to tell the referee that Robben dived with a correspondent gesture. But he's rightfully booked and Holland have a great free-kick opportunity!
80'		We're going into the final ten minutes of normal time, maybe that's the right time to substitute Huntelaar? Don't forget that he scored the late winner against Mexico.
79'		Originally Pinto wanted to substitute Cubero, but after van Gaal made a player change, the Ticos' head coach changes his mind. He sends in Dave Myrie instead, who will replace Gamboa, who seems to have suffered an injury.
79'		Substitution (in) Costa Rica -> Dave Myrie
79'		Substitution (out) Costa Rica -> Cristian Gamboa
77'		Robben does, what he always does. He goes onto the right wing and tries to cut in from there. But there is no way through so he instead tries to pass the ball to the six-yard-box. But it's deflected for a corner.
76'		Maybe he can shake up things a little bit: Dynamo Kyiv's Lens replaces Debay on the left wing.
76'		Substitution (in) Netherlands -> Jeremain Lens
76'		Substitution (out) Netherlands -> Memphis Depay
74'		After Gamboa hits Blind by trying to clear with a bicycle kick, Holland have a free-kick from the left. Sneijder crosses the ball and finds Vlaar, but the defender's header goes over the bar.
72'		Gamboa returns and is able to continue playing. Oranje still mostly have the ball, but fail to be creative with it.
70'		Ouch! Blind and Gamboa are going into a heading duel and while the Dutch defender is successful, the Rosenborg Trondheim players misses the ball entirely and seems to suffer an injury while landing. The right back now receives medical attendance.
69'		Following a Dutch corner from the right, Blind passes the ball to van Persie from the left. But the Manchester United striker is offside again.
66'		That's a bit surprising, why is Pinto taking his best striker off the pitch? Campbell is replaced by Ureña, who's also a forward.
66'		Substitution (in) Costa Rica -> Marcos Ureña
66'		Substitution (out) Costa Rica -> Joel Campbell
64'		Bruno Martins Indi (Netherlands) is shown a yellow card Martins Indi is booked for taering the jersey of Ruiz. But technically speaking the Eindhoven striker should also be booked for demanding the yellow card for his opponent.
62'		After de Vrij commits a foul against Campbell, the Ticos have a free-kick from about 27 metres. Bolaños shoots from there, but his attempt goes wide.
60'		No, that's not worth a penalty. Díaz plays a lateral pass from the left and finds Campbell. But the Arsenal loanee dives after a slight touch by Martins Indi.
59'		Again it's Robben swinging in a corner, but this time it comes to nothing.
57'		Slowly but surely the Dutch should consider applying more pressure onto their opponent, otherwise time will run out and we'll see another WC match go into extra time.
55'		The Netherlands have a corner from the left and it's good! Robben's cross finds de Vrij's head at the left post, but the centre back isn't able to pass it into the back area.
53'		That's Holland's first attempt after the half-time break! Robben makes the free kick and plays a crossfield pass for Sneijer to the edge of the penalty area. There the Galatasaray midfielder tries to score with a onetimer, but he shoots over the bar.
52'		Michael Umaña (Costa Rica) is shown a yellow card Umaña is booked for a bad hit against Robbens shin, so clearly this is a yellow card!
50'		Oranje still are the dominant team but fail to pressure their opposition into their box and enforce more chances.
48'		That's not bad at all! Campbell sends Díaz onto the left side and the left back centres the ball with one touch! The curling cross looks dangerous, but is easily catched by Cilessen.
46'		Play resumes without any player changes.
46'		Second Half begins
45'		Halftime Summary: So far everything went as expected: Holland gathered 62:38% possession and 4:1 attempts (4:0 on target), but failed to score the lead. This was due to a tight Costa Rican defense and Keylor Navas, who again showed a striking performance. All in all it was an onesided first half, but after 20 minutes the Ticos at least tried to attack more. This way they actually had some promising approaches, but altogether were too harmless. The Central Americans have to improve offensively in the second half if they want to proceed to the next round. Otherwise the Netherlands probably will score sooner or later since they were already able to create some danger in the opposition's box, but failed to convert.
45'		Half-Time
44'		While the Elftal still have a large portion of ball possession, they can't manage to convert it onto a goal yet. Still Oranje are the dominant side.
42'		Robben tries to create a chance for van Persie, passing the ball into the box. But Navas dashes out of his goal and and is able to reach the ball before the striker does.
39'		That's a great free kick! But Navas' answer to it is equally strong! Sneijder's attempt from about 22 metres goes right onto the top left corner of the goal, but the Costa Rican goalkeeper can prevent it from going in.
37'		Júnior Díaz (Costa Rica) is shown a yellow card Díaz is penalised for a tactical foul against Robben, who otherwise could've created a chance for his team to counterattack. So the Mainz 05 defender is rightfully booked.
34'		Wow, this could easily have been a goal! Bolaños sends in a free kick from the left and after the ball is headed in front of the goal, Borges almost reaches the ball with his attempted sideways bicycle kick. But instead it goes out of play.
32'		In the past minutes the Ticos are more and more able to free themselves and get the ball inside of the opposition's half. Besides, play is repeatedly interrupted by several fouls on both sides.
30'		The Dutch have their next effort! Van Persie sees Depay sprinting into the left channel of the box and serves him nicely, but Depay's onetimer is saved by Navas.
28'		Costa Rica have a free-kick from the left, this could create danger. But Bolaños' cross for Borges is not good enough, Martins Indi clears with a header.
25'		That could've been better! Kuyt is looking to find van Persie with a wide cross, but the forward is offside. Blind and Sneijder could've gotten the ball on the left egde of the box, if van Persie wouldn't have attempted to convert.
22'		What a great chance! Kuyt crosses the ball from the right and finds Depay, who's able to play a reverse pass to van Persie. The Manchester United striker shoots immediately and Navas is able to parry the attempt, but punches the ball into Sneijder's feet. The playmaker feints and then shoots from about 16 metres distance and this time Navas catches the ball.
21'		The Ticos are attacking again! Campbell tries to dribble his way through the right, but loses the ball eventually at the edge of the penalty area.
19'		Costa Rica almost have their first chance! Gamboa breaks through on the right and plays a lateral pass into the box, but it's intercepted.
16'		It looks like Holland have to show much patience today since Costa Rica are not only playing with five defenders, but also defend very well throughout the whole tournament. So far the Ticos are confirming this observation.
14'		In all of the the previous quarterfinals in this world cup, the first goal was already scored after 13 minutes or less. Tonight's match is the only one to march to a different drummer.
11'		Unsurprisingly the Netherlands try to get through from the wings, especially left and right backs Blind and Kuyt.
9'		The corner kick comes to nothing, but the Elftal get the ball back and continue to control the game.
8'		This time it's the right side for him. Robben, who usually cuts inside from the right wing, tries to get past Diáz, but the Mainz 05 left back clears for a corner.
6'		Robben loses a duel near the opposition's box and Costa Rica quickly counterattack! But they can't keep the ball in their possession and are eventually stopped.
3'		So far the Elftal are grabbing possession and acting in a 3-4-3 formation. Still, we know that van Gaal's 5-3-2 actually was a 3-5-2 in disguise.
1'		The game is underway!
1'		Kick-Off
		It's the very first time these two nations face each other, so both are adding another chapter to their football history.
		This game is highly anticipated, not just to complete the semi-finals and determine who will play against Argentina. It'll also be interesting to see how the Dutch will approach this match against the alleged underdogs, since the Elftal played very defensive and un-Holland-like so far in this tournament. Arjen Robben doesn't seem to care, but rather likes this kind of tactics: "I'm a player who craves counter-attacks. The fact that our defence plays very deep frees up a lot of space for Robin [van Persie] and me. We have the whole pitch for leading counter-attacks."
		One main issue that Costa Rica's head coach brought up yesterday at the press conference was Arjen Robben's tendency to dive inside the penalty area: "We're really worried about Robben's diving. He admitted that he dived so I hope the next referee and assistant referees are very careful tomorrow. Maybe he would have to leave the field because he gets two yellow cards for diving. That could happen. But I want to trust the referees - let's see what they do tomorrow."
		The future Manchester United team manager also added that his side's "goal has always been to win world championships. We're not a fantastic team but we're a team that's difficult to beat... and I hope we can keep that up, up to and including the final."
		Throughout the tournament, the Ticos were the underdog and therefore caused a great upset in the past weeks. While the media and many football supporters still might think of them as underdogs, van Gaal doesn't take this match lightly: "No, no, no. I don't think there's any question of underestimating Costa Rica. I would say that the players consider this to be the most important stage and they are going for their objective. And the objective is not something we want to underestimate."
		Though none of them would've been considered a star before the world cup, one of Costa Ricas two star players - the other one being Arsenal loanee Joel Campbell - is PSV Eindhoven forward Bryan Ruiz, who also played for Dutch side FC Twente before and therefore has many ties to the Netherlands: I have so many friends in the Netherlands. The place was my home for years and I care about its people."
		Costa Rica's head coach Jorge Pinto has to replace Óscar Duarte and Roy Miller. While the former was sent off against Greece due to his second yellow card, the latter is out for the tournament since he suffered a muscular injury to his left leg in training after the group stage was finished.
		Since both teams played their last matches on last Sunday, they should've had enough time to rest. Still both teams have to mourn the loss of two players each. Louis van Gaal has to do without Nigel de Jong, who teared his groin against Mexico, and Leroy Fer. The Youngster suffered a hamstring injury in training prior to the round of sixteen.
		In the previous round, the Elftal succeeded against Mexiko (2:1) with two late goals, avoiding elimination with Wesley Sneijder scoring in the 88th minute and Klass-Jan Huntelaar converting a penalty in stoppage time. Costa Rica on the other hand had to go to penalties against Greece and eventually won 5:3 (1:1 after 90 minutes).
		Azad Derakhshani will provide the live commentary for this match.
		Welcome to the fourth and final game of the quarterfinals between the Netherlands and Costa Rica!