Holland’s substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul dramatically made two saves in a penalty shoot-out against Costa Rica to carry his side into the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Dutch coach Louis van Gaal brought the Newcastle keeper on for Jasper Cillessen late in extra time after a goalless 120 minutes in Salvador on Saturday – and the decision paid off handsomely.

Krul denied Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana while the Dutch converted all of their spot-kicks to set up a meeting with Argentina in the last four.

Holland had numerous chances to score before spot-kicks were required but were denied by Costa Rica keeper Keylor Navas, who had recovered from a shoulder injury to start and was named man of the match.

The Oranje also hit the woodwork three times, including in the last minute of normal time when Robin van Persie’s shot was deflected onto the crossbar by defender Yeltsin Tejeda on the goalline.

A Costa Rica side that had never reached the quarter-final stage before and had been the surprise package of the tournament suffered heartbreak but can return home with their heads held high.

A Costa Rica side that had never reached the quarter-final stage before and had been the surprise package of the tournament suffered heartbreak but can return home with their heads held high.

Holland dominated possession but could not break through Costa Rica’s well-drilled defence in the opening stages.

Los Ticos threatened in the 19th minute when Joel Campbell turned inside Bruno Martins Indi and sent in a low cross towards the box, which was cleared by Ron Vlaar with Christian Gamboa waiting at the far post.

The Oranje almost broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when Memphis Depay fed Van Persie in the left side of the box but his powerful attempt was kept out by Navas, who also saved Sneijder’s follow-up.

At the other end, Celso Borges could not get his head behind Christian Bolanos’ dangerous free-kick.

Navas was called on again to keep out Depay’s left-footed shot towards the near post and in the 38th minute, he palmed away Sneijder’s curled free-kick towards the far post.

Seconds later, Navas rushed off his line to deny Van Persie following Robben’s through-ball as the teams went to half-time with the score at 0-0.

Holland kept up the pressure after the break but Los Ticos defended deeply.

On the hour mark, Campbell demanded a penalty after being nudged in the area by Martins Indi but his appeal was waved away.

Five minutes later Giancarlo Gonzalez’s flying header from Bolanos’ free-kick went over the bar.

Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto made his first substitution one minute later with Marco Urena replacing Campbell.

With 15 minutes remaining, Vlaar headed Sneijder’s free-kick just over the bar.

Costa Rica then suffered a blow with Gamboa stretchered off and having to be replaced by David Myrie.

Holland came closer than ever when Sneijder’s free-kick hit the post with Navas beaten.

Two minutes later, there was a scramble in the Costa Rica area and the ball fell to Van Persie but his close-range effort was repelled by Navas.

Van Persie then missed a golden chance to put his team ahead when he failed to get a touch on Sneijder’s fantastic cross towards the far post.

The last chance of regulation fell again to Van Persie after Daley Blind’s cross eluded three team-mates. Tejeda, on the line, was able to divert his shot straight upwards and off the bar, with Stefan de Vrij eventually running the loose ball out of play.

Holland continued to press forward in extra time and in the 94th minute Vlaar’s header from Sneijder’s corner was saved by Navas.

Van Gaal brought on Klaas Jan Huntelaar for Martins Indi at the start of the second period of extra time.

In the 115th minute, Costa Rica earned their first corner of the match but failed to cause any danger.

Two minutes later they finally had an effort on target, with Urena’s shot saved by Cillessen.

At the other end, Holland were denied by the woodwork for the third time in the game when Sneijder’s curled attempt hit the bar.

Krul had been warming up on the sidelines and was called on in stoppage time in place of Cillessen, who was at the centre of the celebrations as his replacement’s two saves saw the Dutch through.

Borges, Gonzalez and Bolanos did manage to beat Krul but Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder and Kuyt’s successful kicks were enough for Holland.

According to Foxsports

Argentina are through to the semi-finals after the South American side hold onto their slender 1-0 lead from Gonzalo Higuain’s eighth minute strike.

Gonzalo Higuain’s excellent early strike provided the foundation for Argentina to win 1-0 and make it to the last four for the first time since Diego Maradona’s day in 1990 when they finished runners-up.

Higuain for once outshone Lionel Messi, but Maradona’s spiritual heir also provided a constant threat that kept Marc Wilmot’s Belgium side on the back foot.

Messi started off playing deep, seeing plenty of the ball and creating some good positions for his team-mates.

One such move put Ezequiel Lavezzi clear on the right and only Vincent Kompany’s alert intervention prevented a goal.

It took less than eight minutes however for Argentina to take a huge step towards the semi-final and it was Messi, twisting and turning in midfield, who was the architect.

His incisive pass to Angel di Maria was diverted to Higuain, taking a nick off a defender which caused the ball to bounce up for the Napoli striker to swivel and thump a first-time shot low into the corner from 25 yards out.

Belgium attempted to make some headway but Argentina immediately dropped back into two banks of four whenever they lost possession, and when the Red Devils did get into good positions they failed to make use of it.

Jan Vertonghen put in a stunning cross but not a single red shirt tried to reached it and Argentina cleared it unchallenged.

De Bruyne nearly surprised Sergio Romero with a shot with a short back-lift and the rebound from the save only just eluded Origi.

A dream of a pass from Messi sliced through the Belgian ranks for Di Maria but Kompany did brilliantly to get back to block him – and the Real Madrid winger injured himself while taking the shot and had to be replaced by Enzo Perez.

Messi was crudely halted when close to dribbling through a pack of red shirts on the edge of the Belgium area, and then fizzed the free-kick over the top.

Belgium’s best chance of the first half came just before the break when another Vertonghen cross this time found De Bruyne but his diving header bounced wide.

The second half was strangely muted given what was at stake, with Argentina happy to keep things tight and Belgium failing to make much impression.

Higuain cut in and drilled in a low effort that deflected off Daniel van Buyten and past the near-post with Courtois stranded, then the Lazio striker sped into the Belgium half, nutmegged Kompany while at full speed, and fairly belted a shot that smacked the top of the bar.

Marouane Fellaini, who had spent most of the match being bypassed by Messi, failed to make up for it when another Vertonghen cross picked him out, the Manchester United player heading over.

Eden Hazard was equally disappointing, his main contribution being booked for going in high on Lucas Biglia – on another day it could have been red – and he was soon replaced by Nacer Chadli.

In a mirror image of Higuain’s deflected miss, De Bruyne had a slow shot deflected just wide.

In the closing minutes Wilmots went for broke by pushing his tallest players, Fellaini and Van Buyten, up front as extra strikers and Belgium threw the kitchen sink at Argentina but the South Americans held out against the aerial bombardment, with substitute Romelu Lukaku and Axel Witsel coming closest.

There was time too for Messi to break clear and sprint in on Courtois. The world waited for the inevitable goal but Messi’s attempted finish was brilliantly blocked by the Belgium keeper even if it mattered not to the final outcome.

According to Foxsports