The World Cup Quarterfinals continue today when the Netherlands takes on Costa Rica. The World Cup Quarterfinals Start Time for the match is listed at 4:00 p.m. (EST) start time, with it being televised nationally on ESPN.
The Netherlands has been one of the most impressive teams in the World Cup. They breezed through the group stage, dominating everyone in their path. They scored 10 tallies during that time while only allowing three goals to opponents. They opened by blasting Spain 5-1 before skating by Australia but dominating Chile.
Then, the Netherlands got into the knockout stage and nearly lost it all. But they scored twice in stoppage time to beat Mexico and advance to this point in the tournament. Remember, the expectations for the Dutch were very low coming into this tournament as they're young and weren't expected to do much.
Yet, here they are, taking on another surprising team in Costa Rica, who was in a group of death with Uruguay, England and Italy. But they found their way into the knockout stages and beat Greece in penalty kicks during the opening round. How will they respond in this one after playing such a grueling matchup against the Greeks?
These teams have never played before.
We like what Costa Rica has been doing on the pitch so far this World Cup, only allowing two goals in four games. They've defended well and have played a bunch of lower-scoring games and the Dutch could take advantage of that.
We like Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijer to show up big in this one. They're going to be a big part of this contest and someone in this group will score.
Costa Rica might get a tally, but we like the Dutch to continue pushing forward in this one. The Netherlands is going to win by scoring a couple of goals and hanging around late in the second half.
Free Pick: Netherlands 3, Costa Rica 1
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