Late substitute Tim Krul made two saves in a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Costa Rica on Saturday to give the Netherlands a spot in the World Cup semifinals following a 0-0 draw.
Krul, who came on in the 120th minute, stopped shots from Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana in the shootout.
The Dutch team will face Argentina in the semifinals on Wednesday in Sao Paulo.
Gonzalo Higuain’s first goal of this World Cup sent Argentina into the semifinals on Saturday with a 1-0 win over a disappointing Belgium.
Argentina, which hadn’t advanced past the World Cup quarterfinals since 1990, put in its best performance so far in the tournament, controlling the match after Higuain’s eighth minute goal.
The Napoli striker fired home Angel Di Maria’s deflected pass just inside the area, beating Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with a low shot to the far corner of the net.
Higuain came close to making it 2-0 in the second half when his shot smashed into the crossbar.
Belgium lacked the creativity to find a way past Argentina’s defensive line, and created few clear chances apart from a pair of headers by Kevin Mirallas and Marouane Fellaini. - AP
