Game # 60 - QF4 Netherlands vs Costa Rica
Jul. 6th, 2014 11:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catalyst2Looking like the most one-sided of the the quarter finals, this was the only one that went not only to extra time but also to penalties. The well-marshalled Costa Rica defence frustrated everything that Netherlands threw at it though, at times, it was only by the skin of their teeth (and the paint of the crossbar or upright). The imbalance between the two teams was enormous with shots (20/15 to 6/3), corners (11 to 1) and possession (64% to 36%) all adding up to a picture of Netherlands dominance from beginning to end. Van Persie, Robben and Sneijder all bombarded the goal with shots and either Navas saved it or the woodwork did his work for him. The game finished 0-0 so it was on to extra time.
This began much as the regular time had with Netherlands raiding at will but suddenly Costa Rica woke up and had two agonizingly close shots blocked. Just seconds before extra time finished, van Gaal managed to get Krul (a renowned penalty stopper) substituted on for Cillessen. Extra time finished 0-0 so it was down to penalties.
Van Gaal's tactical genius shone through as Krul saved 2 of the 5 Costa Rica penalties whilst Netherlands scored all of their first 4 so they won 4-3 on penalties.
Netherlands play Argentina in the second semifinal. Given the ease that Costa Rica's defence dealt with the Netherlands attack, I'd think that Argentina would go through to the final.
This began much as the regular time had with Netherlands raiding at will but suddenly Costa Rica woke up and had two agonizingly close shots blocked. Just seconds before extra time finished, van Gaal managed to get Krul (a renowned penalty stopper) substituted on for Cillessen. Extra time finished 0-0 so it was down to penalties.
Van Gaal's tactical genius shone through as Krul saved 2 of the 5 Costa Rica penalties whilst Netherlands scored all of their first 4 so they won 4-3 on penalties.
Netherlands play Argentina in the second semifinal. Given the ease that Costa Rica's defence dealt with the Netherlands attack, I'd think that Argentina would go through to the final.
