Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas claimed man-of-the match honors as his side sank Greece in a penalty shootout to reach their first FIFA World Cup quarter-finals and set up a clash with the Netherlands.
Despite being reduced to 10 men in the second half, Costa Rica still seemed to be on course for an upset victory until Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored an injury-time equalizer to force extra-time.
Navas, who had blocked a string of shots in the game, was equally impressive in the two 15-minute periods of extra-time before he pulled off a superb one-handed save to deny Theofanis Gekas’ spot-kick in the penalty shootout.
Photo: Reuters
Costa Rica went on to secure a 5-3 victory to keep the Central American side’s World Cup dream alive.
“To everyone back home and out on the streets — this is for you,” Costa Rica manager Jorge Luis Pinto said.
Ticos captain Bryan Ruiz scored in the 52nd minute to give his side a 1-0 lead at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, but shortly after, defender Oscar Duarte was ordered off for a second yellow and Greece pressed hard for the equalizer.
Photo: Reuters
They set the stage for last-gasp drama when Papastathopoulos pounced on the rebound from Gekas’ strike in the first minute of added time and shot it past Navas.
Yet it was to be the only shot the Costa Rica goalkeeper missed all night and he was voted man of the match by an overwhelming margin.
“He’s an extraordinary ’keeper, I think he’s shown he’s one of the best at the World Cup,” Pinto said.
Those thoughts were shared by Greece coach Fernando Santos, who said: “The [Costa Rica] goalkeeper made the difference for them. He denied us right at the end of extra-time, then again in the shootout. If it wasn’t for him the result would have been different story.”
The Ethniki spurned several chances to win the game in extra-time against the tiring Costa Rica squad and those proved costly for Santos’ men in the shootout.
With Costa Rica leading 4-3 after Joel Campbell rolled the ball past Orestis Karnezis, Gekas saw his chance to pull the Greek team level pushed away by Navas.
Costa Rica secured their first-ever appearance in the last eight in what is only their fourth finals appearance when Michael Umana beat Karnezis.
“Words can’t describe how we feel,” Umana said. “When I went up to take my penalty it was very quiet, but I knew I was going to score.”
The Latin American team claimed another European scalp with the win, after having beaten Italy 1-0 and drawn with England 0-0 in Group D.
Despite a bright start by Costa Rica, Greece should have scored on 37 minutes when Dimitrios Salpingidis ghosted in at the back post to connect with a cross, only for Navas to turn the ball to safety.
Greece’s positive end to the half was in stark contrast to a terrible start to the second. An innocuous-looking attack launched by Campbell on the left saw Bolanos set up Ruiz to sidefoot a low shot past the static Karnezis, whose view appeared blocked by Papastathopoulos.
Urgency was injected into the game immediately and Navas did well deny Lazaros Christodoulopoulos and Kostas Mitroglou.
Santos was sent to the stands before the shootout started and the tension mounted as seven penalties hit the back of the net before Gekas stepped up to the spot.
The substitute hit it firmly to the ’keeper’s left, but Navas leapt athletically to push it clear with one hand, leaving Umana to seal the win.
For Pinto, there was an inevitability about the result
“If we could play until 120 minutes with one player less, then the penalties were ours,” he said. “That is the law of compensation.”
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