The Diving Dutchman and Costa Rica

Yesterday was a great day for football. I thought both games were played outstandingly. It was really entertaining combined with tons of controversy (say that in your best Ian Darke voice). Holland took on Mexico in a game where the on field temperature felt like 104 degrees Fahrenheit and Costa Rica took on Greece in a round of 16 game that not many people saw happening.

I really thought that the Netherlands would handle Mexico easily, that was not that case. Van Gaal made 3 changes from the Spain game, I didn't see that as a good idea because you shouldn't fix something that isn't broke. In the end it worked out but it was very hard for the Orange. After having a good first five minutes the Netherlands couldn't keep possession of the ball and Mexico dominated. The referee decided before the game to make sure there would be a water break at around the 30th minute and 70th minute. Van Gaal said after the game that he used these water breaks as a time to go to his plan b and talk to his players about their different tactics. Taylor Twellman and Alexi lalas said this is an unfair advantage because it was a timeout, but more on that later. Anyways the first goal didn't come until the second half when Giovani dos Santos hit a magical shot that put the Mexicans up 1-0. I knew the Dutch were in trouble now, they really hadn't looked that threatening the whole game. Memphis Depay was brought into the game at the 56th minute. Depay has been a super sub in this tournament, he's full of pace and he has some tricks up his sleeve. Dirk Kuyt, the old man as I call him, played a great game. He ran to every lose ball and really kept the Netherlands alive at the end of the game. The Dutch didn't make their break through until the 88th minute when Wesley
Sneijder hit a cracker of a volley off a corner. That gave the momentum back to Holland. Arjen Robben, who had another great game, gave Mexico trouble on the wings. Robben really wanted the win and when he went down in the box the Netherlands were awarded a penalty. Klaas Jan Huntelaar, the substitute, stepped up and slid the penalty into the side net. After the match Huntelaar actually said that Robben came up and asked him if he wanted to take it. This is pretty surprising considering Robben can sometimes be selfish when it comes to set pieces, him and Ribery have had some fights in the locker room at Munich. Robben isn't that good at penalties though, so he made the smartest decision. The Netherlands advanced to the quarter finals on that 94th minute penalty.

The big controversy after the game was whether the penalty was a dive by Robben. All though Robben is an expert diver, that was definitely a foul. People forget that you can embellish and it will still be a foul. Robben did make the most of it, he did flail his arms up, but there was contact and it was a foul. If you say that Robben's penalty wasn't a foul than Diego Costa's never should have been. He dragged his leg and used it to his advantage. Even though I hate Mexico they played really well and should be proud of their World Cup.

Alexi Lalas said that diving is a part of the game just as much as a professional foul to hold up play. He went on to say they are both skills that are hard to pull off and a player has all the right to use them. I don't think many people agree with that but at least its one side of the argument.

The second game yesterday was Costa Rica vs Greece. Not many people thought that this game would be taking place, but it did, and it was a pretty good game really. Although there were only 2 goals scored I thought it was entertaining. Costa Rica went ahead in the 52nd minute with a goal from Bryan Ruiz. The shot was very soft but its placement was so perfect that it slid into the side net of the goal. Costa Rica looked like they had won, then Oscar Duarte got his second yellow and was sent off. This really changed the game, luckily for Costa Rica they were playing against a team that doesn't attack very well. Costa Rica was so close to winning it, right until Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored in the 91st minute. This stunned the CONCACAF nation who were so close to a quarter final match against the Dutch. The match went into extra time and then to penalties. Costa Rica, despite having crazy tired legs, took some amazing penalties and eliminated Greece. The final was 5-3 on penalties.

France took on Nigeria today and Germany battled Algeria, more on that later. The USA takes on the Belgian Waffles tomorrow, should be a pretty good game. I'm giving the USA a slight chance but I do think this will be the end of the apple pies at this tournament. Belgium should advance but this World Cup has been full of surprises.