2014 FIFA World Cup: Top 5 moments from the Quarter-Finals

The quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil had three European heavyweights Germany, France and Netherlands, three teams from South America Brazil, Argentina and Colombia and two underdogs Costa Rica and Belgium. Coincidentally these were the same teams who topped their respective groups.The matches were closely fought and it is safe to say that four of the best teams have advanced to the semi-finals setting up two cross-continental clashes between Europe and South America.There were moments of magic and despair during the quarter finals and fans were treated to an exhilarating and sumptuous football in all the four matches; however here are some defining moments that will be etched in our memories.

#5 Costa Ricas dream run comes to an end

Not many expected Costa Rica to progress beyond the group stage as they were up against three former World Cup winners – Italy, Uruguay and England. This was just their fourth appearance in the World Cup finals and their best result till date was reaching the round of 16 in the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy.

The temperamental Jorge Luis Pinto, manager of the Costa Rican Football team, has to be credited for the team’s exceptional performance during the World Cup. The Ticos didn’t just survive the so called group of death, but they topped the group without losing a match.

Jorge Luis’s 5-4-1 formation worked wonders for the team as they conceded just two goals in their World Cup campaign. The brilliantly organized defence was too much even for a team in spectacular goal-scoring form like the Netherlands, who found themselves banging their heads trying to crack the five-man stone wall of a Costa Rican defence.

Ultimately, Netherlands had to resort to a penalty shootout to end the Costa Rican dream run at the World Cup winning 5-3. Nonetheless, the Costa Ricans will leave Brazil with their heads held high, showing the world that you don’t need big names to win big games, but it’s the collective effort and team work that triumphs in the beautiful game.