Netherlands vs Mexico Live Scores, Video Highlights: Netherlands Progresses to Quarter Finals, Mexico Eliminated From World Cup 2014

Netherlands beat Mexico 2-1.
Netherlands vs Mexico Live Scores, Video Highlights: Netherlands Progresses to Quarter Finals, Mexico Eliminated From World Cup 2014
Giovani dos Santos of Mexico shoots and scores his team's first goal against Daley Blind (L) and Georginio Wijnaldum of the Netherlands during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Round of 16 match between Netherlands and Mexico at Castelao on June 29, 2014 in Fortaleza, Brazil. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
6/29/2014
Updated:
6/29/2014

Netherlands beat Mexico 2-1.

Check out the goal highlights below.

Giovani dos Santos scores with a long range effort in the 48th minute.

Guillermo Ochoa pulled out a crucial save against  Stefan de Vrij in the 57th minute.

Ochoa was at it again, stopping Robben in the 74th minute.

Wesley Sneijder equalized for the Dutch in the 88th minute.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Netherlands scored the match-winning goal against Mexico for the Netherlands.

See an Associate Press match report.

FORTALEZA, Brazil (AP) — Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Wesley Sneijder scored late goals Sunday to give the Netherlands a 2-1 victory over Mexico and a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals.

Huntelaar, who came on as a 76th-minute substitute, scored the winning goal from the penalty spot deep in injury time after Rafael Marquez brought down Arjen Robben in the area.

Giovani Dos Santos gave the Mexicans the lead in the 48th minute, but Sneijder equalized for the Dutch in the 88th.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal had said his team would have to battle the weather and Mexico in the steamy Arena Castelao, and in the end his players outlasted their opponents in the withering afternoon heat.

It was so warm in Fortaleza that referee Pedro Proenca called for cooling breaks in each half so players could rehydrate.

The Mexicans had conceded only one goal in three group matches and looked like they would keep another clean sheet until the late collapse.

It was heartbreak again for Mexico, which has now reached the second stage of the World Cup six straight times without winning. The last time the team made the quarterfinals was when it hosted the tournament in 1986.

Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa had kept his team in the match with two great saves to preserve the lead in the second half, but he was beaten by Sneijder’s powerful drive and guessed wrong when diving in an attempt to stop Huntelaar’s penalty.

With his team a goal down and facing elimination, Van Gaal brought on attacker Memphis Depay and switched his team to the trusted 4-3-3 attacking formation.

The move worked as the Dutch poured forward and finally beat Ochoa.

It was the fourth straight win for the Netherlands at the World Cup after routing defending champion Spain 5-1 and beating Australia 3-2 and Chile 2-0 in Group B.

The Dutch will next face either Costa Rica or Greece in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Salvador.

 

Larry Ong is a New York-based journalist with Epoch Times. He writes about China and Hong Kong. He is also a graduate of the National University of Singapore, where he read history.