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Holland break Costa Rica hearts with penalty shootout victory Holland break Costa Rica hearts with penalty shootout victory
(35 minutes later)
Louis van Gaal’s substitutions did it again – eventually. Tim Krul, the Newcastle United goalkeeper who had not touched the ball in this World Cup before he was sent on for Jasper Cillessen at the end of extra time, was Holland’s hero on a breathless night that broke Costa Rican hearts. With a characteristic flourish, Louis van Gaal did it again. Tim Krul, the Newcastle goalkeeper who had not touched a ball in this World Cup before Van Gaal sent him on for Jasper Cillessen at the end of extra time, was Holland’s hero on a breathless night that broke Costa Rica hearts.
It was Krul who saved the second penalty from Bryan Ruiz and the fifth from Michael Umaña to take Holland through, after a dogged Costa Rica had given them an almighty scare. It was the substitute Krul – tall, imposing and doing his best to unsettle his opponents – who saved the second kick from the Costa Rica captain, Bryan Ruiz, and a weak fifth from Michael Umaña to take Holland through.
Holland have a woeful penalty record in major championships and this will only increase their belief that they can now go all the way. It was an unusual, and characteristically bold, move at the end of a goalless game in which Los Ticos had given them an almighty scare.
It was the senior players on whom Van Gaal has built the backbone of his side – Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt – who nervelessly tucked away their penalties to book a semi-final with Argentina. Holland’s penalty heartache in major championships is second only to England’s but they were nerveless at the end of a match when a remorseless, relentless Arjen Robben had driven his side to do everything but score against a defiant Costa Rica side.
Costa Rica, who had beaten Greece on penalties in the last round, had ridden their luck but it was a desperately cruel way for them finally to succumb. But there was beauty and organisation in their determination and, allied to the brilliance of their goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, Ruiz’s exhausted players dragged their side to the very brink of one of the biggest ever World Cup shocks.
Holland may have had some good fortune at times, not least in overturning deficits against Australia and Mexico, but they have also made their own luck. Van Gaal has been bold in his willingness to change games from the bench, almost revelling in his daring. It was ultimately the senior players around whom Van Gaal has built the backbone of his side – Robin van Persie, Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt – who nervelessly tucked away their penalties to book a semi-final with Argentina. Increasingly, they will believe this World Cup is theirs.
Strutting into the stadium like a peacock, he again shuffled his pack for this game. Perhaps mindful that his side have excelled on the counterattack but struggled to impose themselves on more defensively minded opponents, Van Gaal ditched the 5-3-2 shape that has been a bone of contention for some in Holland and overhauled his personnel to give his side more attacking intent. They took time to get going but as Robben willed them on they laid siege to the Costa Rica goal from midway through the second half onwards.
Kuyt, the ever-willing workhorse who has been starting as a left wing-back, switched to the right and Memphis Depay, the young PSV Eindhoven striker who has impressed in his cameo appearances as substitute, came in on the left of a front three. In the last 10 minutes of normal time alone, they hit the frame of the goal twice. Overall, they had 15 shots on target, hitting the woodwork three times and finding Navas again in sublime form.
Another change was forced on him, as Nigel de Jong has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a groin strain sustained against Mexico. Bruno Martins Indi came into defence, with the left-back Paul Verhaegh dropping to the bench. It has been a remarkable World Cup for Costa Rica, emerging from the so-called “group of death” to overcome Greece with 10 men and only failing here at the last.
Holland certainly began as if they expected to win, confidently building from the back and not allowing their Central American opponents time on the ball. Both sides had progressed to the quarter-finals on the counterattack and the Dutch knew the onus was on them. In truth, the Dutch should have won in normal time. But neither Van Gaal nor his players panicked. His golden touch appeared to have deserted him when he hurled on first Jeremain Lens and then Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, his saviour against Mexico, to little effect.
Yet as the half wore on, Los Ticos became more comfortable and were largely content to let the Dutch work the ball around in front of them. And when they needed to, they knew they could call on one of the best goalkeepers in the tournament in Levante’s Keylor Navas. Strutting into the stadium like a peacock, he again shuffled his pack for this game. Missing Nigel de Jong, Van Gaal ditched the 5-3-2 shape that has been a bone of contention for some in Holland and overhauled his personnel to give his side more attacking intent.
Robben and Van Persie tried to make inroads and get their team firing. But there was a disjointedness about the Dutch and they sparked to life only sporadically. In the first half Robben and Van Persie tried to make inroads and get their disjointed team firing. Memphis Depay and Van Persie spurned decent chances but Costa Rica stood firm. Van Gaal has repeatedly underlined the importance of the collective over the individual. Yet some of his players remain more equal than others.
They could have gone ahead in the 23rd minute when Robben sent Kuyt running down the right with a delightful reverse pass. His cross found Depay, who in turn squared it to Van Persie. But Navas was equal to the shot and gobbled it up on the rebound from Sneijder. Robben is seizing his moment like a man possessed. Following the furore over his acrobatics during the Mexico game, he was booed here by sections of the crowd as though he were a pantomime villain.
Depay then had a clear-cut chance after the Costa Rica captain, Ruiz, was harried out of possession by Stefan de Vrij and then Van Persie found his team-mate with a precise pass. But again Navas saved. After Jorge Luis Pinto had made pointed reference to Robben’s diving before the match, he appeared to be making an effort to stay on his feet. And despite being fouled again and again, he got up and kept running at the massed ranks of white shirts. He kept his cool as the Costa Ricans tried to run the clock down and exhorted his team-mates to greater heights.
Van Gaal has repeatedly underlined the importance of the collective over the individual. Yet some of his players remain more equal than others. In the last 10 minutes of normal time alone, Holland could have scored twice. It was a tired looking Van Persie who had the best chance to take his team through in a frantic final few minutes of normal time during which the Oranje surrounded the Costa Rica goal.
Robben has become absolutely central. After the furore over his acrobatics during the Mexico game, when he won a late penalty and also admitted to diving to win a first-half free-kick, he was booed here by sections of the crowd as though he was a pantomime villain. But the Costa Ricans dug deep and the goal of Navas, in the form of his life, led a charmed life. With less than 10 minutes left, Sneijder slammed a free-kick against the post and it squirmed to safety.
After Jorge Luis Pinto had made pointed reference to Robben’s diving before the match, he appeared to be making an effort to stay on his feet. But there was no escape when he was bundled over by Júnior Díaz, who earned a yellow card for his trouble. Sneijder struck the resultant free-kick with accuracy but Navas was again equal to it. Then, with a minute of normal time to go, a Daley Blind cross evaded three Dutch shirts before Van Persie steadied himself, poised to put Holland into the semi-finals.
The Costa Ricans, who started this match as considerable underdogs, were largely content to soak up the pressure. The closest they came was when Celso Borges headed down a set piece in the area but Johnny Acosta was unable to bundle the ball home. But Yeltsin Tejeda somehow got his body in the way and the shot squirmed up on to the bar. Ruiz looked to the heavens and smiled ruefully as his resolute side again went into extra time.
There were outstretched palms and pained expressions as the Dutch battled to unlock a Costa Rica defence that dropped ever deeper. For once Van Gaal looked puzzled. Costa Rica, whose coach, Pinto, had endlessly studied previous World Cups to alight upon a defensive formation that could take them to historic heights, could even have won it.
Van Persie, who worked so hard to recover from injury to lead his team to Brazil, looked tired. But the talismanic captain had the chances to take his team through in a frantic final few minutes of normal time during which the Oranje surrounded the Costa Rica goal and were twice repelled by the woodwork. The substitute Marco Ureña went close to writing himself into the history books when he found himself with only Cillessen to beat, but the Dutch goalkeeper proved equal to the task.
Robben, again Holland’s best player, relentlessly did battle with a defence brilliantly set up by Pinto and ably marshalled by Giancarlo González. The ball swung to the other end and Sneijder hit the woodwork for the second time in the match. Then it was over to Van Gaal, who said his final substitution had been planned all along, and Krul.
As their opponents laid siege, the Costa Ricans dug deep. The goal of Keylor Navas, in the form of his life, led a charmed life. As the Dutch players descended on Krul in exhausted elation, the Costa Ricans sat dazed in their dugout. A proud Pinto said afterwards: “People didn’t believe in us but we’ve achieved wonderful things. We go home unbeaten and that’s very important for us.”
With less than 10 minutes left, Sneijder slammed a free-kick won by Robben against a post and it squirmed to safety. Minutes later Navas saved from Van Persie from an acute angle. Van Gaal, sporting a lucky bracelet given to him by Dutch schoolchildren, left the field wearing the air of a man who had planned the outcome all along. He had said before the match he would wear it for three more games. One down, two to go.
Finally, with a minute of normal time to go, Daley Blind fired a ball across the six-yard box. The ball evaded three Dutch shirts before Van Persie steadied himself to put Holland into the semi-finals.
But Yeltsin Tejeda somehow got his body in the way and the shot squirmed up on to the bar. The Costa Rica captain, Ruiz, looked to the heavens and smiled ruefully as his resolute side again went into extra time.