Luck or skill? 10 years since van Gaal's sub led Netherlands to 2014 World Cup semi-final

Now we are all fascinated by the European Championship and the Copa America, but 10 years ago at this time the World Cup was taking place on the Brazilian fields, which, in addition to the defeat in the match between Brazil and Germany, presented another unforgettable event.

On 5 July 2014, the stadium in Salvador hosted the 2014 World Cup quarter-final match between the Netherlands and Costa Rica. Despite the dominance of the "Oranje", they failed to score either in regular time or in the extra 30 minutes.

The game was approaching the penalty shootout, and before it, the head coach of the Dutch team Louis van Gaal made a goalkeeper change, swapping Jasper Cillessen for Tim Krul. Normally, it is harder for goalkeepers to come into the game from the bench than for field players, and even before such a crucial moment. But not in the case of the then Newcastle goalkeeper.

In the penalty shoot-out, he fended off shots from Brian Ruiz and Michael Umaña. Meanwhile, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt were accurate off the mark. Thus, Krul's two saves put the Netherlands into the semi-finals, where they lost to Argentina, the future finalist of the tournament.