So, apologies for the inconvenience that the password issues created, and my own inability to get this out in a more timely manner. The fault is mine, although I honestly did not expect the computer to log me out, for no apparent reason. Guess I had grown so comfortable with being permanently logged in, that it had been so long since I had last actually signed in, that I actually forgot my password!
Will try to make sure that does not happen again!
Anyway, here was what I was working on, with some brief (and surely, you'll be able to tell it was brief) descriptions of the matches, which were the main parts that I had not been able to complete:
Well, I picked Netherlands and Argentina to advance yesterday. And after picking wrong for both games on Friday, I wanted at least to redeem myself a little bit more with more accurate picks this time.
Or, actually, perhaps I didn't. Because while my head told me Netherlands would beat Costa Rica, and Argentina would knock out Belgium, I actually kind of wanted the reverse. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing particularly against Netherlands or Argentina. But those two, like Brazil and Germany, can be defined as the usual suspects to advance to the semifinals, which would kind of give this World Cup, which has been blessedly unpredictable to this point, feel like it was following some kind of a predictable script at the end. It would just be nice to see some new teams in the final, and the results where Belgium and Costa Rica pulled off shockers would provide exactly that.
So, if my picks would prove right, then I would redeem myself a bit from having been wrong with the first two quarterfinals. And if Costa Rica and Belgium wound up winning, I would be entirely wrong, but would be glad to see some brand new teams at such an elite level in the World Cup!
Let's see what happened:
Argentina 1, Belgium 0
Argentina won, yes. But this was not a particularly impressive showing for the Argentinian side.
Gonzalo Higuaín was able to get a goal in the 8th minute, to put Argentina up early.
And that was it for the scoring in this game! Argentina was not able to pour on the points thereafter, and Belgium was unable to get anything in the way of an answer.
Argentina moved on, and will play Netherlands next.
Netherlands 0, Costa Rica 0 (Netherlands wins 4 to 3 during penalty kick shootout)
Costa Rica's Cinderalla run through this World Cup is over, as Netherlands was able to hold them off.
Goals are usually harder to come by in the later rounds of tournaments like these, and that was especially evident in this game, as neither team was able to break through either in regulation time, or in the extra session, although Netherlands dominated time of possession.
Yet, strategy, and not entirely luck, had something to do with the victory for Netherlands, as Dutch coach Louis van Gaal replaced starting goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen with Tim Krul, a bigger goalies with a more physical presence. The strategy worked, as Krul blocked two shots, and was instrumental in lifting Netherlands to the win.
Krul generated controversy himself by talking some trash to the Costa Rican players, telling them that he knew where they were going to kick it. But apparently, it worked.
Bryan Ruiz missed on Costa Rica's second penalty kick shot, giving Netherlands a definite advantage.
Michael Umaña missed his shot to keep Costa Rica in the shootout, clinching the victory for Netherlands, which had converted all of their penalty kicks.
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