text: Netherlands to put Costa Rica in their place | GiveMeSport
  Netherlands to put Costa Rica in their place
  Costa Rica's magnificent World Cup campaign will likely come to an end Saturday evening at the hands of Netherlands.
  After being drawn with three previous World Cup winners - Italy, England and Uruguay - Costa Rica were instantly ruled out of any chance of qualification from Group D.
  However, after two wins against Uruguay and Italy and a 0-0 draw with England they managed to top their group.
  A favourable last-16 clash with Greece saw them scrape through on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
  But they will face their toughest test so far when they face an impressive Netherlands side in the quarter finals.
  Despite Costa Rica's unexpected and magnificent run during this summer's World Cup they have been highly fortunate and aren't as good as many people are making out.
  Their 3-1 win over Uruguay in their opening match may seem emphatic but it certainly wasn't. Uruguay were without their star man Luis Suarez and had led for much of the match before three second half goals from Costa Rica. It was seen how much Uruguay missed Suarez during their knockout clash against Columbia when they lost 2-0.
  During their second group match, Costa Rica beat Italy 1-0 thanks to a Bryan Ruiz header. It was a tremendous result but the Italians were awful and it didn't take much to beat them. With two wins out of two Costa Rica had assured qualification and played out a 0-0 draw with already eliminated England.
  Astonishing for Costa Rica to top the group but as you can see, they were given a helping hand along the way.
  Onto the knockout stages and Costa Rica had earnt themselves a tie against Greece. Bryan Ruiz scored a goal early in the second half before Oscar Duarte was sent off in the 66th minute. Greece managed to equalise in the last minute of normal time.
  Costa Rica rode their luck during extra time with goalkeeper Keylor Navas making some magnificant saves before they won in the penalty shootout.
  So, it's clear that Costa Rica's run has been sensational but also fortunate. Netherlands come into the quarter-final clash having won all four of their matches and will surely end the Costa Ricans dream.
  The likes of Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie could wreak havoc against Costa Rica's defence as they look to expose a side being rated slightly better than they are.