2014fwc_tsg_report_15082014_neutral

Story of the tournament 13
side. Having gone into the interval goalless,
the Mexicans made a flying start to the second
half when Dos Santos volleyed home beyond
the despairing dive of keeper Cillessen (1) in
the 48 th minute. The Netherlands fought back
hard, however, with the efforts of Sneijder
(10) and Robben either going only inches wide
or being denied by Ochoa (13). Coach Louis
van Gaal chose his moment to make a smart
tactical change during the cooling break in
the heat of Fortaleza by sending on Huntelaar
(19) who duly set up Sneijder’s volleyed
equaliser and then converted the injury-time
spot kick to take the Dutch through to the
quarter-finals in dramatic fashion.
Costa Rica v. Greece 1-1 a.e.t. (1-1, 0-0),
5-3 PSO
The match was cagy right from the initial
exchanges as both keepers went largely
untested. The game became more of a
contest after the break when La Sele captain
Ruiz (10) placed a precise shot low into the
corner to give the Ticos the lead in the 52 nd
minute. After going down to ten men when
Duarte (6) received a second yellow card,
Costa Rica dropped further back to defend
their lead. The Greeks, meanwhile, threw
everything forward to save the match, but the
outstanding Navas (1) kept them at bay. The
Greek breakthrough came in injury time when
Papastathopoulos (19) equalised to force the
game into extra time. Greece relied too much
on deep deliveries into the box while La Sele
kept all ten men behind the ball. Penalty kicks
were inevitable and Costa Rica won a thrilling
shoot-out 5-3 to go through to their first-ever
World Cup quarter-final.
France v. Nigeria 2-0 (0-0)
This was an extremely close contest between
the two teams as Les Bleus were well resisted
by the African side, notably by the in-form
keeper Enyeama (1). However, it wasn’t all
one-way traffic as the Super Eagles also
formed some strong attacks, but defenders
Koscielny (21) and Varane (4) dealt with
these excellently. As the game entered its
latter stages, Nigeria made an unfortunate
error from a corner to allow Pogba (19) to
head home, and Les Bleus confirmed their
win when a fast-paced cross caught out the
unfortunate Yobo (2) who put the ball past his
own keeper, sending the Frenchmen marching
into the next round.
Germany v. Algeria 2-1 a.e.t.
The first half provided plenty of entertainment
as Algeria started off at a high tempo, with
striker Slimani (13) causing plenty of problems
for the Germans. Keeper Neuer (1) had to be
alert enough to rush out of his area to snuff
out the danger on several occasions. Müller
and Özil (8) had their own share of chances
but saw them all denied by keeper Mbolhi
(23). Algeria began to struggle in the second
half as Germany took the game by the scruff
of the neck, although the German efforts still
couldn’t beat Mbolhi. When the match went
to extra time, substitute Schürrle (9) and Özil
both scored, showing the Germans’ superiority,
though Algeria were able to register a late
consolation goal.
Argentina v. Switzerland 1-0 a.e.t.
Argentina squeezed into the quarter-finals
thanks to a last-gasp extra-time winner from
Di María (7). Messi had a quiet game, only
testing Benaglio (1) the Swiss keeper on two
occasions, but played a key role in setting
up Di María’s goal. The Swiss looked the
more dangerous in attack with impressive
strikes from Xhaka (10) and Lichtsteiner (2)
both denied by keeper Romero (1). The
Argentinians dominated the second half, but
couldn’t find a way past Benaglio. Late in
extra time as the Swiss sought an equaliser,
substitute Dzemaili (15) saw his header hit the
post and sent the rebound wide from just two
metres leaving the Albicelestes very relieved
and with a place in the quarter-finals.
Belgium v. USA 2-1 a.e.t.
Belgium made a blazing start with young
striker Origi (17) and De Bruyne (7)
particularly active in attack, though the
US keeper Howard (1) was equal to every
attempt on goal. The match seemed to
settle after the frenetic start, with the USA
gradually managing to impose their style on
proceedings. Bradley (4) and Dempsey (8)