World Cup 2014: Costa Rica (5) 1-1 (3) Greece

By on June 29, 2014

Costa Rica have made history. Twenty-four years ago, they hadn’t even qualified for a single World Cup. Now, they are heading into their first ever World Cup Quarterfinal with a win over Greece, and become the first ever mainland Central American nation to do so. Yet it will not be their place in the Quarterfinals that will be most remembered – Ukraine and Paraguay reached the World Cup Quarterfinals in 2006 and 2010, respectively, but their runs have hardly gone down in history – but the journey they have taken to reach the Quarterfinals.

Nobody expected Los Ticos to even give Italy, Uruguay, and England a game in Group D; the ‘minnows’ were immediately cast off as doomed for zero points once the group draw was announced. However, the Costa Ricans topped the group undefeated, defeating both Italy and Uruguay, while drawing England.  It was already a tremendously successful campaign for Costa Rica, even their economy has even improved every so slightly during the campaign. And now, it has gotten even better. The Costa Ricans were down to ten men, and as Greece scored a late stoppage-time equalizer to take the two side’s Second Round fixture into extra-time, they seemed doomed to lose. Yet Costa Rica didn’t cave in, and even during the heartbreaking feature of penalties, they kept their nerve and buried all five of their spot-kicks to take them into the Quarterfinals.

It took a tremendous all-around performance from Costa Rica, as well. Jorge Pinto’s side put pressure on Greece early on, and seven minutes in Christian Bolanos fired over from the edge of the box, from a classic Costa Rica move.  Joel Campbell had skittered up the wing, and while the ball ran away from him Costa Rica had pushed up as a unit, allowing Bryan Ruiz to latch onto the loose ball and feed it to Bolanos.  Greece quickly established a foothold in the match, however, and Costa Rica were forced all they way back into their own third at times. Yet they defended as a team too – everything they did as a unit, even if that forced their wing backs to at times sprint back forty yards to defend a doomed Greece counter-attack. Goalkeeper Keylor Navas was also on peak for for Costa Rica, somehow keeping Greece out thirty-six minutes in when Dimitrios Salpingidis snuck around his marker at the far post to guide a brilliant looping Jose Holebas cross from the left towards goal. It looked for all the world to be heading in, only for Navas to deflect it wide via his shin.

It was a poor first half entertainment wise, but Costa Rica had managed to keep Greece out. And just seven minutes into the second half, Costa Rica too the lead. Bolanos squared the ball to Ruiz at the top of the box from the left, and Ruiz placed a slow, rolling effort in off the post. It was not the best bit of goalkeeping from Orestis Karnezis, who didn’t even dive, nor was it at all a powerful effort, but the shot was placed well enough to give Costa Rica the lead. And frankly, they didn’t at all care how it came.

Yet luck turned against Costa Rica just fifteen minutes later. Oscar Duarte’s late challenge on Holebas down Greece’s attacking-left wing earned him a second yellow, and Costa Rica were down to ten men. For the next twenty-four minutes, Greece would be putting tremendous amounts of pressure on Costa Rica. But just when Costa Rica seemed to have it won, thirty seconds into two minutes of stoppage time, Greece scored a heartbreaker. The European side sent a long ball, hail-mary style, into the box, and after Sokratis Papastathopoulos brought the ball down he fed it through to Theofanis Gekas, who, on the turn slammed a low half-volley from a tight angle to the right of goal. Navas parried the original effort, yet sent the ball right back into the mixer, where Papastathopoulos converted from six yards.

And in the seconds remaining on the clock Greece nearly made it all the more devastating with a winner, only for Navas to acrobatically tip Konstantinos Mitroglou’s flicked header over the crossbar to take the match into extra-time. Neither side quite took the initiative in a scrappy, open added half hour, though, as the heat began to take its effects, and although Michael Umana sliced a fifteen yard volley over the crossbar before Lazaros Christodoulopoulos saw his powerful effort from ten yards out parried away by Navas, and Mitroglou forced Navas into another brilliant save to tip wide a tap-in from a cross via his thigh, the match went into penalties.

Once again, Costa Rica performed as a team. Celso Borges, Ruiz, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Campbell, and Umana buried all five of Costa Rica’s penalties, yet as Navas saved Gekas’ spot-kick, Costa Rica are through to the last eight. And what a way they have progressed to it in.

Main Thought:
The heat in Brazil is undoubtedly affecting knockout round matches which go into extra-time. Not a single goal has been scored in the hour of play in the two matches that have gone into extra-time so far, due to the fact that each side has been tired by the heat and hardly has any fuel left in their tanks. This will only become more of a factor as the World Cup progresses.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.