Netherlands defeat Costa Rica 0-0 (4-3 on penalties): Los Ticos go down valiantly to super sub Krul

A tense, tactical game from the Dutch morphed in the latter stages into a back-and-forth game of sudden drama and save after save from the excellent Keylor Navas.

Costa Rica hardly threatened Jasper Cillessen’s goal until the end as Louis Van Gaal’s team pushed up to avoid spot kicks—the Dutch had a 1-4 record in penalty shootouts until tonight. While Costa Rica nearly won the game in the second half in extra time as Marcos Urena had his shot saved by a splayed out Jasper Cillessen, they also survived a Wesley Sneijder crossbar rattler to take the game to penalties. 

Then, some Louis van Gaal tinkering and a belligerent Tim Krul helped Netherlands through to the semifinal.  

The Penalties

The Netherlands, who had for so long suffered terrible luck from the spot, finally bucked the international trend. Dutch manager Louis van Gaal will take much of the credit for a bold move to sub on Tim Krul for Jasper Cillessen in the last minute of extra time.

The gamble worked as Krul saved Bryan Ruiz and Costa Rica’s second penalty was saved by the Newcastle keeper. Meanwhile the Dutch scored every single spot kick. After Dirk Kuyt scored from the spot, Michael Umaña had to score to keep the Ticos alive. Krul saved his penalty, and the Dutch were through!

The Man of the Match - Keylor Navas

Though he let in every single Dutch penalty, Navas had an incredible night in goal again for Los Ticos, as he had all tournament. Coming into the match he had 17 saves and would add another 7 in a valiant effort to take Costa Rica as far as they could go against a highly favoured and shot dominating Netherlands side. Aided by a solid Costa Rican backline, Navas goes back to his club Levante in Spain as a household name.

The Controversy

Tim Krul was clearly hyped up to help his team’s cause during the penalty kicks, and was probably a close second for man of the match with two crucial saves. But in walking up and chirping Bryan Ruiz and a few other penalty-takers he raised a hitherto rarely asked question: Can keepers be yellow carded in the penalty shootout?  

It didn’t win him any fans among the neutrals, but Krul’s unique form of Dutch garra will definitely be remembered.

What did Netherlands do to win?

The Dutch came out very patient in possession, cycling the ball through the back line and waiting to work through a good ball in a very compact five man Costa Rican defense with three central defenders.

With little space to maneuver however, Netherlands resorted to a few searching long balls over the top, perhaps trying to recreate the magic which saw Arjen Robben wreak havoc against Spain back in the group stages. However the three Costa Rican central defenders in Michael Umana, Giancarlo Gonzalez and Johnny Acosta were well suited to the challenge, and the Netherlands, despite great movement on the flank, relied mostly on set-pieces for their best chances.

The Oranje gambled however and pushed up for the win, nearly scoring on several occasions but for the interventions of Navas and a very active Ticos defense. However this game was really won in penalties, as Krul’s two saves were backed up by a 100% conversion rate from the spot.

The Takeaway

The world gets its mega humongous incredible final four: Brazil vs Germany and the Netherlands vs Argentina. A fan boy’s dream perhaps, but what the Costa Ricans managed in Brazil will not be forgotten for a long time. 

A team everyone believed would tank early in a group with Italy, England and Uruguay won the whole damn thing, and then in the knockout rounds survived going a man down against Greece and took the high flying Dutch all the way to the penalty spot.

A monumental achievement for the players and for manager Jorge Luis Pinto, who did CONCACAF proud. Congratulations.  

The 1,000 Words

Stray Thoughts

Joel Campbell, who came off in the 66th minute, caught some grief for not appearing as fleet of foot on the Costa Rican counter, but after a full two hours against Greece, maybe we might lay off the young man?

Bruno Martins Indi? More like Brutal Martins Indi. He was overeager in the box on a few occasions but it took 64 minutes before he received a yellow card.

Robben was Robben, though what does the man eat for breakfast? Bossed play out on the right well into extra time. A marvel to watch through 120 minutes and never tired in helping to create or running the ball to the by line. Or diving.

Wesley Sneijder was largely anonymous again until hitting the bar twice in the latter stages, but then Netherlands are through to the World Cup semifinals so who cares?