The irresistible fairy tale of Costa Rica faces a day of reckoning against Louis van Gaal’s hard, calculating Dutch side on Saturday in the World Cup’s most unlikely quarter-final.
Few believed that Costa Rica, a small Central American country with an undistinguished footballing record, would still be standing, especially after being in a group that included Italy, England and Uruguay.
Yet they shocked Uruguay and Italy to top a group bracketing three World Cup winners, before battling past Greece on penalties after playing an hour with only 10 men.
Despite the talents of Joel Campbell and Bryan Ruiz in attack, it has been more a case of grit and organisation than Latin flair with Jorge Luis Pinto’s side conceding only two goals so far and scoring five.
Costa Rica have already outdone their best World Cup performance, reaching the last 16 in 1990, much to the jubilation of fans back home whose celebrations have stretched long into the night. Whether the parties continue depends on the Netherlands, whose hard-nosed approach and late comebacks have already dashed the dreams of millions of fans in Chile and Mexico.
Costa Rica have problems in defence with centre-back Oscar Duarte – who scored a brilliant header against Uruguay – suspended and the left-sided Roy Miller injured.
Up front, expect another starring role from Campbell, 22, whose eye-catching tournament could prompt Arsenal to recall him after loan spells at Lorient, Real Betis and Olympiakos. Playing behind Campbell will be the assured Ruiz, 28, to complete an attacking duo that has yielded three of Costa Rica’s goals.
The Fulham forward, who spent last season on loan in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven, said Costa Rica were capable of shocking the Dutch – a seismic upset for the World Cup, but one that would find favour with neutrals and romantics.
“Saturday’s game is like a final for us, but we don’t want to stop there,” said Ruiz. “Holland is a great team, but I have to be honest and say that we have a good chance of beating them. But we have to take care of a lot of details if we want to win.”
The eventual winner at Salvador’s Fonte Nova Arena will play either Argentina or Belgium for a place in the July 13 final in Rio de Janeiro.
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