Despite being reduced to 10 men for the last third of the game Costa Rica clinched a win over Greece to record their best ever performance in a World Cup.
The Ticos have been on a fairytale run ever since topping Group D a so called Group of Death and will now be contesting a World Cup quarterfinal thanks to Bryan Ruiz who scored the decisive goal. Oscar Duarte saw himself sent off shortly afterwards and Greece eventually found a breakthrough in the first minute of injury time when Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored to force extra time. But Costa Rica held on and a heroic performance from Keylor Navas helped them after he produced a superb save to send the Ticos to a victory in the shootout.
The first half was mostly a cagey affair with both sides looking to play on the counter attack although there were a limited amount of chances. A decent move saw Ruiz feed Christian Bolanos early on but the midfielder blazed his shot over the bar when well placed to test the goalkeeper.
It was Greece who came the closest to scoring in the first half with Jos Holebas delivering a sensational cross from deep for Dimitris Salpingidis. Although the forward's cushioned volley was true he still failed to score as Keylor Navas managed to keep it out with his trailing leg another stunning save for a hugely impressive tournament for the Ticos keeper.
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