Written by @Wayde_D for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
Netherlands vs Costa Rica | Saturday 05 July | Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador | 22:00
The Netherlands needed a penalty deep in stoppage time to seal a 2-1 comeback win over Mexico and advance to the quarter-finals. Costa Rica, who beat Greece on penalties later on Sunday to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time, have been the surprise package at the tournament. The Dutch now strongly fancy their chances of making the semi-finals for the third time in their last four World Cup appearances.
To Win (90mins)
Netherlands 5/10
Draw 3/1
Costa Rica 56/10
Netherlands
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored an injury-time penalty to complete a dramatic comeback for Netherlands in a 2-1 win over Mexico and book their place in the quarter-finals. Giovani dos Santos opened the scoring for Mexico in sweltering conditions in Fortaleza, only for Wesley Sneijder and Huntelaar to net late goals and set up a meeting with the Central Americans. The victory marked the first time in World Cup knockout round history that a team trailing in the 88th minute has won in regulation time. Robin van Persie was not at his best and the Dutch will be hoping he gets back to the form that bagged him three goals after the first two matches. The Manchester United striker had a couple of opportunities to beat the Mexican keeper, but he failed, and he couldn’t do much to help his side in the sweltering conditions in which the Dutch struggled. Arjen Robben was key in the Netherlands’ win as he made a superb run into the box and was brought down – controversially – by Rafael Marquez to earn the stoppage time penalty. Robben has been a candidate for player of the tournament and has struck three goals for his country in qualifying from the group stages ahead of Spain, Chile and Australia.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica booked their place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup by hanging on to defeat Greece on penalties after surviving a last-minute equaliser and a sending-off in Recife. The Costa Ricans had to play for almost an hour with ten men, and just had the legs to win 5-3 on penalties after the match finished level at 1-1 after extra time. With his team down a player for that amount of time, Keylor Navas made sure Costa Rica’s last line of defence held firm. The goalkeeper came through with a string of stops in regulation and extra time and then made the only save in the penalty shootout. The Greeks had dominated the latter stages of the match, finishing with 57% of possession and thirteen shots to Costa Rica’s two, but Costa Rica hung in there to knock out a third European side.
Their star player was Bryan Ruiz, who was loaned out by Fulham to PSV in January. Ruiz was at the heart of everything positive about Costa Rica. When he got the ball he showed the strength to hold off aggressive Greek marking and the subtlety to pick out his team-mates. While they will again be tipped to fail, just as they were when drawn in a group that included Italy, Uruguay and England, they have shown that a solid team ethic, built on the foundation of meticulous preparation and rigid organisation, can help them upset the established pecking order. The foundation for Costa Rica’s success has been the system they play, with a rock-solid back five who have only conceded once in open play in their four matches to date. Costa Rica had just two shots on goal, however, that likely had a lot to do with key defender Oscar Duarte getting himself thrown out of the game after receiving a second yellow card. Costa Rica will be hoping Duarte’s replacement fits in fine in an attempt to keep their solid record. The Ticos will also need their attackers to be at their best to breach the Dutch defence. Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell have combined for three of Costa Rica’s five goals in this tournament and are inspirational for the Central Americans.
VERDICT: Netherlands 5/10
Both sides have been playing counter-attacking football in the tournament and sport similar 5-3-2/5-4-1 formations, with three men in defence and wing backs sweeping up and down the flanks in support. Costa Rica no longer possess that surprise factor now that everyone has witnessed their exceptional run to the quarter-finals. Louis van Gaal will have studied his opposition in a hope to avoid a close encounter like their last match. The Dutch are tipped for the victory without going into extra-time.
