The final match of the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup was hosted by the Brazilian city of El Salvador on 5 July. The national teams of the Netherlands and Costa Rica fought for the right to play in the semifinals of the world championship.
This pair of teams was the only one where there was a clear favorite among other teams that played at the stage of the quarterfinals. The Netherlands, before the starting whistle, looked preferable, but the Costa Ricans still had the right to continue their football tale.
The game began with a European lead. During the first half, van Gaal's wards created many dangerous scoring chances, but Navas rescued the team from Central America. Van Persie, Sneijder, Depay had scoring chances, but the score remained zero by the end of the first half. Costa Rica's players tried to threaten the gates of the Europeans only from standards, but it didn't look as dangerous as fans of Central America would like.
In the second half of the meeting, the Dutch again unleashed a flurry of attacks on the opponent's goal, and the Costa Rican goalkeeper continued to work wonders at the goal. The last ten minutes of the second half were extremely difficult for Costa Rican players. At the 82nd minute, Sneijder shook the frame of the gate of Costa Rica with a blow, at the 84th minute, Van Persie was already punching on goal from a lethal position, but Navas again rescued.
In the 90th minute, the Costa Rican Teihead player on the goal line blocked the way for the ball into the goal, after which the crossbar also saved the Americans.
90 minutes of the meeting did not reveal the winner. Zeros burned on the scoreboard, which did not reflect the total advantage of the Netherlands.
In extra time, the Dutch continued to lay siege to the rivals' goal, and goalkeeper Navas rescued again and again. Where the Costa Rican goalkeeper was already powerless, the frame of the gate saved. So, Sneijder in the 119th minute could have scored the winning goal, but the crossbar played for Costa Rica. True, the Costa Ricans had one chance to score in extra time. On the 117th minute, Urenia received a good pass from a partner and shot the Dutch from the penalty area on goal. Goalkeeper Sillesen saved Holland.
The playing time of the match ended in a goalless draw. But it can be stated that the score was clearly not according to the game. The Dutch had at least five gorgeous chances to score the opponent's goal, but everything was decided by the post-match penalties.
Before the 11-meter series, van Gaal replaced the Netherlands goalkeeper. Tim Krul entered the field, who became the final hero of the meeting. The Dutchman saved two penalties, which allowed the Netherlands to win in the 11-meter series with a score of 4 - 3.
The Netherlands will advance to the semi-finals to face Argentina, while Costa Ricans are proud to leave the tournament with a team that has not lost in five matches of the football world championship to anyone in game time.
