The mighty Oranje will face off against the tournament upstarts Costa Rica this evening at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador for a coveted place in the last four. Dutch midfielder Nigel De Jong will miss out tonight, and indeed on the rest of the tournament with a groin injury, his championship brought to a shuddering halt against Mexico just nine minutes in.
Special Offer: BET LIVE on Netherlands vs Costa Rica + have a $200 FREE BET on us!
Result: Netherlands win 4 – 3 on penalties.
Wesley Sneijder will likely miss out with a back problem sustained in the same game that saw his colleague De Jong crocked. Costa Rica will welcome back their ‘keeper Keylor Navas in spite of a shoulder injury which saw him miss most of this week’s training. Oscar Duarte will be unavailable this evening as he sees out a ban, and rising star Roger Miller has picked up a foot injury which will likely see him also ruled out.
Costa Rica are indeed this years upstart, on the verge of becoming the first CONCACAF nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup since an unlikely USA side managed the feat in 1930. The Oranje will still be hurting after finding themselves ousted in the final game for the third time at the last tournament as Spain went on to humble them and take the crown and will likely fancy themselves as finalists, seeing Los Ticos as an inconvenient hurdle to overcome on the way. Costa Rica however have nothing to lose, with no real history at this tournament and will be looking to continue bucking the trend as insistent medias all around the world continue to write them off at their own peril.
The coaches of these two teams have very different CVs with Louis Van Gaal having won three league championships in three different countries, as well as one Champions League. Jorge Luis Pinto however has had mixed experiences, having been sacked in his last two failed attempts to reach the finals, both with Los Ticos and with his native Colombia, however he has had some domestic success winning the Peruvian Championship twice with Alianza Lima as well as the Costa Rica Primera Division twice with Alajuelense. Pinto has been present in some form or another during the last five World Cups, observing different coaches and footballing styles to learn his trade. He should not be written off by his opposite number, Louis Van Gaal, who has also had previous international experience, unfortunately failing to take the Oranje to the 2002 World Cup finals after taking over from the sacked Frank Rijkaard.
This evening’s game is likely to feature Bryan Ruiz of Costa Rica, who has plenty of experience of the famed Dutch “Totaalvoetbal” or Total Football, having spent two seasons in the employ of PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch winger Arjen Robben has been heavily criticised for his alleged dive in the game against Mexico which saw the Oranje smash two goals past them inside a sensational two minutes, however both teams will need to put such antics out of their minds and focus on a game which is likely to be extremely hard fought and will likely be won in a Costa Rican midfield full of industry and hard work, or indeed a Dutch midfield full of creativity and control.
