Final Scoreline for Match 51 (Round of 16 #3):
THE NETHERLANDS - 2
(Sneijder 88', Huntelaar 94' PK)
MEXICO - 1
(Dos Santos 48')
What a cracker of a match!!
Until the 87th minute, which is just 3 minutes away from full time, Mexico were looking at a real upset win and securing a spot in the Last 8 Quarter-Final stage, their last one being in the 1986 WC. But what a turn the events took in the following 9 minutes!!
Netherlands never looked a threat, nor in their stride, all through those first 75-odd minutes. Maybe the hot, humid afternoon was getting badly to them (there were two 3-minute Cooling Breaks in either half at the 30-minute mark, it was THAT hot). It was Mexico who was clearly the better team, in terms of possession, passing and attacks, and they came close to scoring more than once all through the first half, which had ended 0-0. Van Persie, Robben & Sneijder, the golden Dutch trio, were not allowed to even sniff the ball by the strong Mexican defense and midfielders. And when Giovani Dos Santos planted one in the Dutch net in the first few minutes of the second half, it suddenly looked tough for the Dutchmen. After all, this was the team which had held the free-flowing Brazilians to a 0-0 full-time draw.
Up until the 75th minute, things didn't look even remotely in the Netherlands' favor. Then they started pressing forward a lot more, and desperation started to creep in once the 80th minute ticked over. And the continuous persistence paid off big-time when a perfectly timed cross found Wesley Sneijder's left foot and a narrow tunnel through the Mexican defense. The resulting thunderbolt left everyone flat-footed, including Ochoa, the heroic Mexican goalkeeper, who had kept quite a few shots out till then. Surely, one of the best and most critical goals of WC 2014 so far.
It was 1-1 when added time started after the 90th minute (6 minutes were to be added), and a lapse in defensive formation saw Robben run through into the box, where he tripped on the long leg of the Mexican skipper. The referee immediately awarded the penalty kick to the Dutch, much to the chagrin and protests of the Mexican players, one of whom was slapped with a yellow card. Klaus Van Huntelaar came through to take the penalty kick hit, and he scored through one of the perfect penalty kicks you can ever hope to see.
2-1 to the Netherlands in the dying minutes, and that's what it stayed when the long whistle blew. Absolute heart-break for the Mexicans, who did everything for almost the whole duration of the match. But as they say, sheer class needs only a moment to stamp it's authority, and that's what the Dutch and Sneijder did.
87 minutes of Mexico, and 9 minutes of Netherlands. Just about enough. Viva Oranje!