Saturday, July 05, 2014

2014 FIFA World Cup: Argentina, Netherlands Reach Semifinals

The quarterfinal round of the FIFA World Cup concluded on Saturday with two games contested in Brazil.

At Brasilia:

Gonzalo Higuain (that's him congratulated by Lionel Messi amongst others) scored the only goal of the match in the eighth minute as Argentina defeated Belgium 1-0 to reach the World Cup semifinal round for the first time since 1990.

Associated Press photo

At Salvador:
(AP)
After 120 scoreless minutes, Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, and Dirk Kuyt all converted their spot kicks as the Netherlands returned to the semifinal round after winning the penalty-kick shootout 4-3 over Costa Rica. Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul, who was inserted into the game as a substitute in the final minute of overtime, makes this save (one of two in the shootout) on Michael Umana's spot kick to preserve the shootout victory, as seen here.

Associated Press photo

On Wednesday, the Netherlands will face Argentina in a semifinal contest at Sao Paulo, with the winner to face Germany or Brazil in next Sunday's final at Rio de Janeiro.

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