Netherlands 0-0 Costa Rica (4-3 after penalties): Five Talking Points

With the game evenly poised at 0-0, it took another Louis Van Gaal substitution to help his side claim a penalty shoot-out victory over Costa Rica and seal their semi-final clash against Argentina on Wednesday.After going nowhere for long periods of time, the Dutch finally quickened the tempo, right towards the end and turned a very dull encounter into one of the finest finishes ever to a World Cup game.Here are the five major talking points from the game.

#1 Fantastic finish to an otherwise dull encounter

For eighty minutes, it looked as though the game was going nowhere. The Dutch had the majority of the ball, but looked in no hurry to do anything with it as they continued to spray the ball around in defence for much of the game. Costa Rica on the other hand, showed little or no attacking ambition thus far and looked as though they were content to let it go to penalties.

But in the final 10 minutes of normal time, the match turned on its head as both sides went for it in the hope of securing a win. And the 30 minutes of extra-time that ensued was perhaps the best extra-time of not just this World Cup, but in recent memory as well.

Although the Dutch started strong, towards the end, even they seemed to be clinging on and were happy for it to go to penalties. The shootout added further drama which ended in the Dutch eventually going through.

For a game that was barely watchable for the opening 80 minutes, the next 40 minutes was arguably one of the finest exhibitions of end-to-end football ever seen.

#2 Robben has the last laugh

Before the game, Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto was keen to point out Robben’s theatrical nature in the hope that he would be reprimanded severely if he tried the same stunts again. Unfortunately for Costa Rica, that plan backfired as Robben went onto have one of his best ever performances for the Oranje.

Against the Central Americans not only was he great, going forward, but he was also a tireless runner and helped out at the back on numerous occasions. Robben tormented the Costa Rican defence and was especially hard on left wing back Júnior Díaz. He was lucky not be sent off for reckless challenges on Robben, especially after he had been booked early on.

What was evident from very early on was that not only did Robben try to stay on his feet, but it looked as though the only way in which Los Ticos were going to stop him was by hacking him. Although the game remained scoreless, he dispatched a crucial penalty to help his side to their second-straight World Cup semi-final.

#3 Sun finally sets on Costa Rican adventure

Going into the World Cup in Brazil, Costa Rica weren’t given much of a chance. Especially after being drawn into a group containing three World Cup winners – Italy, Uruguay and England. Not only did they come out of the group but they also managed to beat both Italy and Uruguay and come out as group winners. Ever since then, they have been the tournament’s Cinderella story.

Their victory over Greece, although in a penalty shootout, was a hard-fought one and one they had to achieve with 10 men for the entire extra-time period. Victory against the Greeks meant that they came up against a Dutch side, looking to become the first North American side to reach the semi-finals since USA in 1930.

Although the odds were heavily stacked against them, they almost pulled a rabbit out of the hat yet again. But this time, even Keylor Navas’ heroics couldn’t stop them from going out. But after the pain and anguish of the shootout subsides they will look back on it and think about how wonderful their journey truly was.

#4 A tale of three keepers

Such has been the standards of goalkeeping this tournament that it wouldn’t be a surprise if a goalkeeper walked away with the Player of the Tournament title. Arguably the pick of the bunch has been Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas.

Against the Dutch, Navas once again shown just why he has conceded just two goals in his four games so far. Whether it was coming off his lien to thwart Van Persie or saving with his legs to keep out Memphis Depay, the goalkeeper made use of every inch of his body to keep his side in the game.

Even with all of his heroics, the goalkeeper that is going to be making all the headlines will not be him. It isn’t even the Dutch keeper Cillessen who was in the starting XI and proceeded to simply take goal kicks for most of the game before making a crucial save in the dying moments of extra-time to keep his side still in the game.

Instead, all the plaudits will go to Newcastle United’s Tim Krul, who came on in the final minute of extra-time just for the shoot-out. Although he had saved only two of his previous 20 penalties in the Premier League, Krul repaid his manager’s faith by saving two of the five spot kicks.

Even if it is the only thing that he does in the tournament, what a way to finish it all.

#5 Dutch fail to break down a disciplined Costa Rican defence

Although the Dutch monopolised possession throughout the game, they didn’t create too many clear cut opportunities in normal time. They had the ball, but seemed to do precious little with it. And the only time they even looked remotely threatening was on the counter, when either Costa Rica lost the ball or when they were breaking forward at pace from a set-piece in their own area.

Even the few chances they did manage to create were all spurned. While there is no doubt that Keylor Navas was a standout performer for the Central Americans, the performance of Dutch skipper Robin van Persie is one that is likely to worry Van Gaal. Not only did the striker look isolated up front, he was also caught offside far too often and his movement was found wanting on more than occasion.

And the only two times the Dutch broke into the Costa Rican defence, Van Persie missed two sitters, one just a couple of minutes before full time. Although he converted his spot kick, his form or lack of it meant the Oranje were unable to penetrate the Costa Rican defence.