Netherlands striker Robin van Persie admitted that the 4-3 penalty shootout win over Costa Rica was a difficult but exciting experience for the Dutch players.
The game had finished 0-0 after extra time but Dutch coach Louis van Gaal captured people’s attention with a late change of goalkeeper that paid off after Tim Krul came on to save twice in the shootout and see the Netherlands through to a semi-final in Sao Paulo against Argentina.
The 30-year-old Manchester United forward also added that the Oranje were unlucky not to have w0n the game in normal time and he suggested they benefitted from respecting their opponents during the build up to the quarter-final.
“Costa Rica are a good side, we knew what was waiting for us,” said van Persie in his post-match comments.
“Certainly, we could have won the game earlier, we were unlucky but the important thing is that we qualified for the semi-final.”
“It was a difficult and exciting game, now we have a very attractive tie against Argentina waiting for us.”
