Netherlands vs. Costa Rica, World Cup 2014: Kickoff time and TV schedule
The Dutch must deal with upset-minded Costa Rica to advance to the semifinals. Here’s how you can watch the match.
Dean Mouhtaropoulos
Netherlands are big favorites to book a place in the World Cup semifinals as they face Costa Rica on Saturday. The Ticos have been on a fantastic run, winning a tough group and surviving against Greece in the Round of 16, while the Dutch needed two late goals to get by Mexico.
The Netherlands know they were lucky to beat Mexico, and will be looking to perform much better against yet another CONCACAF side. Louis van Gaal is running short of midfielders with both Nigel de Jong and Leroy Fer injured. De Jong tore a groin muscle in the Mexico match and is expected to miss the rest of the tournament. Fer is doubtful with a hamstring injury picked up in the Netherlands’ final group stage match.
Costa Rica have gone way beyond expectations by reaching the quarterfinals, and even if they were to fall against the Dutch, this World Cup will still be a massive success for them. That said, they’re not ready to just step aside and bow out quietly.
The Ticos will be missing defender Oscar Duarte, who was shown a red card in the win over Greece. Goalkeeper Keylor Navas has a sore shoulder that kept him out of training on Wednesday, but he’s expected to be fit and ready to play.
The winner will face the winner of the Argentina vs. Belgium match on Wednesday, July 9.
Match date/time: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
Venue: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil
TV: ESPN (U.S. - English), Univision (U.S. - Spanish), CBC (Canada), ITV 1 (U.K.), Nederland 1 (Netherlands), Repretel (Costa Rica)
Online: WatchESPN (U.S. - English), Univision En Vivo (U.S. - Spanish), CBC Sports streaming (Canada), ITV Player (U.K.)
United States announcers: Adrian Healey, Alejandro Moreno
Listings via LiveSoccerTV, where you can find listings for other countries.
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