Day 17 of the FIFA World Cup was witness to the progression of Netherlands and Costa Rica who will face each other in the Quarter Finals.
Mexico face Netherlands in a tense game that was tied after 45 minutes as Mexico hoped to make history and progress to the quarter finals for the first time since 1986. Three minutes into the second half Giovani Dos Santos scored a magnificent goal past the Holland defense from far range giving Mexico the unexpected lead for almost the entire second half. By the 87′ it looked as if Mexico would make history and upset the professional analysts but a corner kick from Netherlands led to an 88′ goal to equalize the game, followed by a 91′ penalty awarded to Arjen Robben who flopped in the box giving Netherlands the win over Mexico who arguably deserved the win over their European opponents, but a loss of concentration betrayed the Mexicans as Netherlands progressed to the quarter finals 2-1.
The second game of the day was Costa Rica v Greece in a game that would determine who would face Netherlands. The first half was left level as both teams failed to follow through with their chances. But it was Costa Rica who would get the lead and ultimately the seemingly near win with a goal in the 52′ that would keep them ahead until the 90+1 when Greece tied the game and forced it into extra time. However both teams found themselves exhausted and could not score a winning goal by the 120′ as the game headed to penalties. Both teams scored their first 3 penalties but Greece failed their fourth as Costa Rica scored all 5 leaving the score, 5-3 in favor of Costa Rica.
Tomorrow’s Games:
France v Nigeria @Noon
Germany v Algeria @4PM