On Thursday evening, another set of 2014 World Cup quarter-final matches were played. The match did not end in 90 minutes, and after a penalty shootout, Costa Rica reached the quarterfinals for the first time in the country's history.
In the first half, the Greeks appeared more threatening, creating more dangerous opportunities than Costa Rica from Group D. In the 7th minute, Costa Rican Cristian Bolanos had a chance to score, but the striker's shot did not hit the target.
The 2004 European champions did not stay in their own half and controlled the ball more in the opponent's half.
In the 28th minute, team captain Georgios Karagounis took a long shot, but Keylor Navas guarded the goal confidently.
The most real opportunity to score was in the 37th minute when, after a pass from a team mate, Dimitrios Salpingidis emerged alone against the goalkeeper, but Navas reacted quickly to the opponent's shot and saved the team from the first goal.
In the second half, the players fought and battled for every inch of the field. In the 47th minute, Giorgios Samaras head a shot dangerously towards the Costa Rican goal.
However, just a few minutes later, the first chance was created in front of the Greek team's goal, resulting in a goal. After a great pass from C. Bolanos, the team captain Bryan Ruiz scored from about 20 meters out.
After the goal, the Costa Ricans tried to press the opponents for a few minutes, but later they did not have more opportunities. In the 66th minute, Costa Rica was disappointed, and Greece was satisfied with the referee's decision. Oscar Duarte, who committed a second foul, received another yellow card and was sent off the field.
For the remaining time, the Central American team had to play with ten players, and the Greeks started the decisive push towards the opponent's goal. Fernando Santos' pupils attacked one after another, but until the 90th minute, they couldn't score the equalizer.
However, in the first minute of extra time, Sokratis Papastathopoulos created a miracle. Successfully saving the first opponent's shot, K. Navas could not block the second rebound from Borussia Dortmund defender.
In extra time, as expected, the Greeks dominated and took advantage of their numerical superiority. Not only forwards, but also shining defenders had great opportunities to score after set pieces.
During extra time, no goals were scored, and the referee announced that penalty shootouts awaited the teams. The first three shots, both for Greece and Costa Rica, were flawlessly executed, but the fourth shot was missed by Greek Theofanis Gekas, and Costa Rica scored all five penalties, securing a historic victory.
Costa Rica reached the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in the country's history. In the quarterfinals, this team has played only once before in 1990. In this World Cup quarterfinal, the Costa Ricans will face a test from the Dutch footballers.
Result:
Costa Rica 1 - 1 Greece
(Penalties: 5-3)
52' [1 - 0] B. Ruiz
90' [1 - 1] S. Papastathopoulos
66' O. Duarte (Costa Rica) sent off
Starting Lineups:
Greece: Karnezis, Maniatis, Manolas, Samaras, Karagounis, Salpingidis, Torosidis, Lazaros, Sokratis, Cholevas, Samaris.
Costa Rica: Navas, Gonzalez, Umana, Borges, Duarte, Bolanos, Campbell, Ruiz, Diaz, Gamboa, Tejeda.
