Costa Rica Defeat Greece to Reach World Cup Quarter Finals
The Netherlands also stunned Mexico with two late goals to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup
WASHINGTON — A 10-men Costa Rica beat Greece 5-3 on penalties to book a mouth-watering berth with the Netherlands, who defeated Mexico with a last-minute penalty in World Cup matches played Sunday. Costa Rica were on top of their game until they resorted to defensive play after one of the players was sent out for an early shower following a second bookable offense. Greece equalized through a sensational strike in the final minute of the game but failed to break the deadlock after extra time. Costa Rica scored all their penalties while Greece’s fourth penalty spot kick was saved by goalkeeper Navas. In the previous match, the Netherlands stunned Mexico with two late goals to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored on an injury-time penalty shot to give the orange-clad Dutch team a 2-1 win in the round of 16 knockout match. On the winning goal, Huntelaar rifled a powerful low shot into the left corner of the net as Mexican goalie Guillermo Ochoa lunged in the opposite direction. Mexico led for much of the second half, with Giovani Dos Santos scoring in the 48th minute to break a scoreless tie in Fortaleza, Brazil. Wesley Sneijder scored the equalizer for the Dutch in the 88th minute. Brazil and Colombia also clash in the quarterfinals.