News Americas Now, New York, NY, June 30, 2014:The CONCACAF region had a mixed day at the World Cup in the second round on Sunday with Mexico losing 2-1 to the Netherlands and Costa Rica winning 5-3 on penalty kicks against Greece after finishing regular time tied at 1-1.
Mexico, playing well, scored in the 48th minute through a brilliant Giovani Dos Santos goal. Wesley Sneijder however scored the equalizer for the Dutch in the 88th minute of play. Klaas Jan 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 penalty area.
In the second game, Costa Rica dug deep to win on penalty kicks after playing with only 10 men after one of its players was sent off in the 66th minute. It was an exciting game throughout especially after Costa Rican midfielder Bryan Ruiz scored the first goal in the 52nd minute. With Costa Rica playing a man down, Greece snatched a goal in the 90th of play through Sokratis Papastathopoulos, thus forcing extra time.
In extra time, Costa Rica defended well and forced penalty kicks. The team scored all five of their penalty kicks and with Greece missing one of their five kicks, Costa Rica outlasted Greece.
Costa Rica next faces the Netherlands in the quarter finals. The remaining CONCACAF team in the tournament, the United States, faces Belgium in the second round on Monday.
