World Cup Round 16 Costa Rica 1-1 Greece AET Ruiz 52 Papastathopoulos 90, Costa Rica win 5-3 on penalties An initially drab game burst into life after the break with Greece equalising late over ten-man Costa Rica who survived extra time to win the penalty shoot-out and make the quarter finals for the first time in their history.
This game which started off so unpromisingly with the first save arriving after 27 minutes gradually gained momentum in the second half when Christian Bolanos picked out Bryan Ruiz on the edge of the box who stroked the ball home.
With Greece now having to come out of their defensive shell Costa Rica looked the more likely to score until the 65th minute when Oscar Duarte saw red for second yellow card offence in tripping Jose Holebas.
Now the momentum swung the way of the Greeks who suddenly found the time and space they had struggled to find before, but for all their efforts keeper Keylor Navas was determined to keep them at bay.
He had already excelled himself with a fine stop just before the break yet seemed to have gifted the game to Greece when deep into added time he fumbled a Theofanis Gekas shot allowing defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos to blast the equaliser.
But Navas redeemed himself almost immediately by palming over Fulham striker Kostas Mitroglou's bullet header in the final minute.
Yet this scenario of extra time and the drama of a shoot-out had all seemed unlikely following a dour first 45 minutes of few chances in which defences dominated and the quality of football on display was distinctly average.
Extra time saw Greece in control as they made their numerical advantage count but could not convert the chances against a Costa Rica team looking shattered having had to play for nearly an hour with ten men.
Incredibly they could have sneaked a win during this period with two good chances yet it was Navas again who was to deny Greece with a brilliant save on the stroke of the final whistle and again it was Mitroglou who saw his point block effort deflected behind.
A master class in taking penalties then followed as both teams matched each other's efforts until Navas broke Greece hearts with a wonderful stop.
Costa Rica defender Michael Umana then steeped up to score the winning spot kick and creat history for his country and a quarter final meeting with the Netherlands.
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