DAY two of the World Cup quarter-finals sees two intriguing ties on the cards.
At 5pm Argentina take on Belgium, a team tipped to do well before the tournament and proving so far that they can match the big boys.
Argentina have had some criticism for not playing at their best and scraping through some of their matches and will need to up their game against a Belgium side that are doing well with nothing to lose.
At 9pm the Netherlands, who started the tournament with a bang before quietening down somewhat, play surprise package Costa Rica.
The Dutch only just made it here, with two late goals needed to eliminate Mexico in the second round.
Costa Rica, meanwhile, were not expected to be here at all.
Fancied as the whipping boys of England’s group, they made it out of Group D before beating Greece on penalties in the round of 16.
Alan Young, who has family links to Costa Rica, followed the team’s early matches in Brazil before returning home.
He said: “If I’m still exhausted just from watching Costa Rica’s win over Greece on Sunday, I can’t imagine how the players are feeling.
“While that second round match might have drained the team physically, they discovered a special fighting spirit deep within themselves which they can pull out against the Dutch.
“Given that starting defenders Oscar Duarte (suspended) and Roy Miller (injured) have been ruled out of this next match, our biggest question mark will be whether the players on the bench can step up to continue the tactical discipline that has defined our back line.
“In attack, I am more confident.
“We have a star goal scorer of the Dutch league in Bryan Ruiz and he will relish this opportunity to use his experience to get himself and his team-mates on the score-sheet.
“While the Dutch team sheet is illustrious, with names like Sneijder, Robben, Van Persie, and manager Van Gaal – ‘Van A Perder’ – Spanish for ‘they are going to lose’.
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