World Cup: Argentina, Netherlands Advance | WPN World People News

Argentina qualified for its first trip to the World Cup semifinals in nearly a quarter-century Saturday, while the Netherlands secured its second straight visit to the semifinal round.

The Argentines knocked off Belgium, 1-0, in Brasilia. Striker Gonzalo Higuain tallied the only goal, firing the ball into the bottom corner of the net less than 10 minutes into the match. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi had an opportunity to make it 2-0 toward the end of the game, but Belgian goalie Thibaut Courtois made the save.

Argentina now heads to its first World Cup semifinal since 1990. The Argentines have won two World Cups, in 1978 and 1986.

In Salvador, the Netherlands posted a 4-3 penalty shootout win over the surprise of the World Cup, Costa Rica, following a scoreless draw.

Dutch goalie Tim Krul, who came off the bench to play in the shootout, stopped shots by Ryan Ruiz and Michael Umana. Krul was brought in because he is 5.1 centimeters taller than starting goalie Jasper Cillessen.

Argentina and the Netherlands face each other in the semifinals on Wednesday in Sao Paulo.

Two other football powers, Brazil and Germany, clash in the other semifinal on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte.

Brazil, Germany and Argentina have won 10 of the 19 World Cups. The Dutch were finalists in 1974, 1978 and 2010.

This year's championship game is on July 13 in Rio de Janeiro.

The Dutch dominated their quarterfinal match against Costa Rica in regulation and extra time.

But Costa Rica's goalie Keylor Navas made a series of clutch saves, stopping star striker Robin van Persie at least twice. Van Persie was also denied by midfielder Yeltsin Tejeda, who blocked an attempt while standing on the goal line.

Another dangerous Dutch player, Wesley Sneijder, was inches away from scoring. But one of his shots in regulation hit the post and another in extra time bounced off the crossbar.

Source: Voice of America