Day two of the World Cup knockout phase offers up a fairy tale trio of squads whose journey to this stage defy all odds alongside the proverbial bridesmaid-in-waiting looking to finally make good.
The Netherlands and Mexico kick off the action as the three-time World Cup runners-up Dutch face an in-form El Tri squad at the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza at 1300 local time. Meanwhile, surprising Group D winners Costa Rica face off against a Greece side not given much of a chance to advance out of the group by anyone save the most optimistic Hellenic supporters at 1700 local time at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife.
Netherlands vs. Mexico
For passionate Le Oranje fans, this edition of the squad on display in Brazil is more in keeping with the manner in which the Dutch are accustomed to playing and showing themselves on the world’s biggest stage. Compared to the cynical manner of Bert van Marwijk’s squad of 2010 which clawed, scratched and karate-kicked their way to the final in South Africa, Louis van Gaal’s squad enter Fortaleza impressing with their connected passing game and their array of young Eredivisie talent.
The Netherlands quickly exorcised the demons of 2010 in their first match with a 5-1 annhilhation of Spain, a thrilling 3-2 victory over Australia and a tidy 2-0 victory over a quality Chilean team who were a goal post away from ending Brazil’s summer dream.
Matters appear to point in the Dutch’s favor as they boast a side which leads all squads with 10 goals scored at this World Cup and welcome back captain Robin van Persie, suspended for the Chile match, to lead the line against a determined El Tri side who bravely held Brazil in Fortaleza nearly two weeks ago.
The return of a free-flowing Dutch side has been Louis van Gaal’s trademark in his second stint as Dutch coach. A lone draw was the only blemish in their qualifying matches as they reeled off nine victories and a staggering goal differential of +29 with the lethal duo of van Persie and Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben at the forefront.
Meanwhile, Mexico look to advance into the quarterfinals on their sixth attempt as El Tri has been a model of consistency at the World Cup, advancing past each group phase since 1994 but falling at the next subsequent hurdle. Coach Miguel Herrera leads a squad that dusted themselves off from a shaky qualifying campaign and came to Brazil determined to slay their previous demons.
Mexico play a tireless brand of football with their players pressing the opposition all over the pitch, forcing errors as they look to punish on quick counter attacks. Mexico has only allowed a single goal through group play, a late Croatia strike after the match was done and dusted, and is confident behind a veteran back line and in-form keeper in Guillermo Ochoa who put on a performance for the ages against Brazil.
Both sides will be happy to avoid the blistering Fortaleza heat as temperatures are expected to be cool and cloudy conditions for the mid-day match.
Probable line ups:
Netherlands (4-3-3): Cillessen; Blind, Vlaar, de Vrij, Janmaat; Sneijder, de Jong, de Guzman; Kuyt, Robben, van Persie
Mexico (5-3-2): Ochoa; Miguel Layun, Moreno, Marquez, Rodriguez, Aguilar; Guardado, Salcido, Herrera; Peralta, dos Santos
Costa Rica vs. Greece
In a World Cup of breakthrough performances, the achievements of Los Ticos cannot be underestimated. Coach Jorge Luis Pinto’s men were given little chance to advance in a group with Italy, Uruguay and England but they started with a bang demolishing Uruguay 3-1 and showed the performance was no fluke as they outplayed the Azzurri to win 1-0 and booked passage to the knockout stage for only the second time in their history.
While much of the excitement around Costa Rica has been attributed to on-loan Arsenal striker Joel Campbell who is the squad’s creative spark for their free-flowing football, their success begins in the defensive third. Netminder Keylor Navas has shone behind of a quality back line led by Major League Soccer’s Giancarlo Gonzalez. The steady three-man defense has allowed aggressive wing backs Junior Diaz and Cristian Gamboa to support the attack and surprise opponents as they quickly turn defense into quick strike offense.
Costa Rica now find themselves in the role of favorites and how the squad copes with the pressure against a resilient Greek side will go a long way to determining their fate.
Greece were fortunate to advance on a controversial penalty awarded at the expense of the Ivory Coast but won’t be looking back as Fernando Santos’ men look to continue a catenaccio strategy which brought glory to the Hellenic side in Euro 2004. While the Greeks are extremely hard to break down, they continue to lack much attacking threat and will be hampered by an injury to Bologna’s Panagiotis Kone who will miss Sunday’s match.
Greece can find hope that they hit the woodwork three times against the Elephants and Giorgio Samaras scored for the first time in two years in a Greece shirt. In a match of counter-attacking sides, Greece must hope they can slow down Costa Rica’s wide play and pick up the luck they enjoyed in Portugal a decade ago.
Probable line ups:
Costa Rica (5-4-1): Navas; Diaz, Umana, Gonzalez, Duarte, Gamboa; Bolanos, Borge, Tejeda, Ruiz; Campbell
Greece (4-3-3): Karnezis; Holebas, Papastathopoulos, Manolas, Torosidis; Samaris, Karagounis, Maniatis; Christodoulopoulos, Samaras, Salpingidis
