World Cup

[monks data]

Attendance: 41,242

World Cup | Round of 16

Jun 29, 2014 at 9pm UK

Costa Rica
1-1
Greece

Ruiz (52')
Duarte (66')

FT
(aet)

Papastathopoulos (90+1')

Costa Rica win 5-3 on penalties

Player Ratings: Costa Rica 1-1 Greece (Costa Rica win 5-3 on penalties)

By Barney Corkhill, Editor

Published: June 30 2014 | 01:27

Last updated: July 1 2014 | 08:13

Sports Mole takes a look at who impressed during Costa Rica's penalty shootout victory over Greece in the last 16 of the World Cup.

Costa Rica set up a World Cup quarter-final showdown with the Netherlands tonight courtesy of a penalty shootout victory over Greece in Recife.

The 10-man Central Americans edged the spot kicks 5-3 after Sokratis Papastathopoulos had struck an injury-time equaliser to cancel out Bryan Ruiz's 52nd-minute opener.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at who impressed during a dramatic last-16 clash.

Costa Rica pose for a team photo prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Round of 16 match between Costa Rica and Greece at Arena Pernambuco on June 29, 2014 © Getty Images

COSTA RICA

Goal

Keylor Navas: The difference maker. He was once again his side's most important player and, without him, Costa Rica could have found themselves out of the World Cup after 90 minutes. He had a string of superb saves and also made a crucial stop in the shootout to help his side to victory. Perhaps could have done a little better with the goal, but more than made up for any slight error with his overall performance. (9/10)

Defence

Cristian Gamboa: Didn't have his usual impact in terms of attacking and struggled to contain Holebas at times. Dug in well with the rest of his defence, but Greece's biggest threat came from the flanks. (6/10)

Oscar Duarte: Was solid enough during his time on the pitch, but put his side under immense pressure with a rash challenge that earned him a second yellow card in the 66th minute. (5/10)

Giancarlo Gonzalez: Another commanding display from a centre-back who has enjoyed a really good World Cup. Was at the heart of a heroic defensive performance to keep Greece at bay in extra time. (7/10)

Michael Umana: Another who performed admirably with his side under heavy pressure and a man down. Showed nerves of steel to step up and score the winning penalty. (8/10)

Junior Diaz: Like Gamboa, didn't have his usual impact going forward and found it tough to stop the crosses flooding in during extra time. Still, he did contribute to the backs-to-the-wall defending job after the red card. (6/10)

Midfield

Bryan Ruiz: Scored the goal that looked for so long like being the winner. There was a hint of a scuff about his finish, but he gets the benefit of the doubt for coming up with another vital moment for his side in this World Cup. (7/10)

Celso Borges: Ran all day and did his best to make up for the man disadvantage following the sending off. Made some important contributions and was one of few Costa Rican players still bursting forward at the end of extra time. (7/10)

Yeltsin Tejeda: Solid game as ever in the middle of the park. Taken off in the 66th minute just before the red card, so missed the main bulk of the excitement. (6/10)

Cristian Bolanos: Provided some threat down the wing for Costa Rica, although they didn't get much joy at all against the Greek defence. Taken off with seven minutes remaining. (6/10)

Attack

Joel Campbell: Ran his socks off, so much so that he could barely walk at the end of 120 minutes. Still managed to coolly slot home a penalty in the shootout, however. Didn't threaten too much in normal time but kept working throughout. (7/10)

Substitutes

Jose Cubero: Replaced Tejeda in the 66th minute and made one or two bright runs, including one that almost created a chance in extra time. (7/10)

Johnny Acosta: Came on with 13 minutes of normal time remaining as Greece were getting more joy down their left flank. Solid cameo appearance. (6/10)

Randall Brenes: Played an important role for his side in extra time as their freshest legs on the field. Made some good breaks down the right to waste some valuable seconds. (7/10)

Greece pose for a team photo prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Round of 16 match between Costa Rica and Greece at Arena Pernambuco on June 29, 2014 © Getty Images

GREECE

Goal

Orestis Karnezis: Was left rooted to the spot by Ruiz's goal, which looked to have been a mis-hit from the Costa Rican. Other than than, had very little to do and could do nothing about any of the penalties, all of which were superb. (6/10)

Defence

Vassilis Torosidis: Was fortunate not to give away a penalty for handball in the second half. Gradually came into the match more and more and provided a number of dangerous crosses from the right. (7/10)

Kostas Manolas: Solid game from the centre-back as he helped to nullify the Costa Rican attack. Had increasingly little to do after the red card, but was always there to clear any danger. (7/10)

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: Got the all-important equalising goal in second-half stoppage time, although it was something of a tap-in. (7/10)

Jose Holebas: Provided a constant threat down the left flank that Costa Rica struggled to deal with. One or two of his crosses went astray, but generally his delivery was good. His best cross set up the only chance of the first half for Salpingidis. (8/10)

Midfield

Dimitris Salpingidis: Missed a golden chance in the first half, but couldn't have done much more with his finish as Navas made a fine stop. (7/10)

Giannis Maniatis: Taken off with 12 minutes to go. Solid enough display but didn't have a great impact on proceedings. (6/10)

Giorgios Karagounis: Just kept going and going despite his advancing years. Looked to have even more left in his tank at the end of 120 minutes despite players more than a decade younger being dead on their feet. (7/10)

Andreas Samiris: Had a couple of long-range efforts that failed to worry Navas, and on a whole struggled to make a difference in the game. Was taken off just before the hour mark. (6/10)

Lazaros Christodoulopoulos: Greece's most dangerous player as he looked threatening whenever he got on the ball. Always tried to make something happen, although his end product wasn't always as good as his build-up play. (8/10)

Attack

Georgios Samaras: Caused a nuisance of himself at times but was not as hard to handle as he can be. Played a part in the build-up for the equaliser, however, and provided an aerial threat for the barrage of crosses in extra time. (7/10)

Substitutes

Kostas Mitroglou: One or two poor touches, but his main contributions were chances at the end of both normal time and extra time. On both occasions he couldn't have done much more, but he was denied by an inspired Navas. (7/10)

Theofanis Gekas: Certainly made a difference after coming on. It was his shot that led to the equalising goal, and he had a number of other threatening moments throughout. Was the unfortunate player to miss what proved to be a decisive penalty in the shootout, although that goes down as a good save rather than a poor spot kick. (7/10)

Kostas Katsouranis: Made a few telling contributions at either end of the field having been introduced in the 78th minute. Would have been upset at missing out on a place in the starting lineup, but had a good cameo. (7/10)