Netherlands Profits from Cooling Breaks at World Cup

(ATR) As temperatures reached 38.8 degrees in Fortaleza, Holland and Mexico had the first official cooling breaks of the World Cup.

Referee Pedro Proenca signaled a three-minute timeout in both halves to allow players to rehydrate with drinks. Both coaches used the moment to talk tactics with their players.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal used the second break to change the team's formation, which sparked a comeback in a thrilling finale to the match.

"I first changed to a 4-3-3 and then we created a lot of opportunities with a shot on the post and a fantastic save from (Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa)," he was quoted by Reuters.

"Then I moved to plan B and yes, I did that in the cooling break that is a clever way of benefiting from these breaks," he said. Van Gaal brought on Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, pairing him with Dirk Kuyt in attack, a tactic which paid off with the late strikes as the Dutch overcame Mexico.

Some fans were forced to move to the back of Estadio Castelao to seek shelter from the searing heat.

Under FIFA rules, climate conditions are evaluated and if temperatures exceed 32 degrees, cooling breaks are ordered. The three-minute breaks take place around the 30th minute and 75th minute with the ref adding that time on to each half.

Players have taken short unofficial breaks to drink water during several matches in the Amazon heat of Manaus but these were much shorter and not ordered by the referee.

Costa Rica First

Costa Rica beat Greece in a penalty shootout to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time.

After 120 minutes with the scored locked at 1-1, Colombia won 5-3 on penalties to book a last-eight meeting with the Netherlands, who beat Mexico 2-1.

Costa Rica are the first CONCACAF team to advance beyond the round of 16 since the USA in 2002.

"I am very happy. This is an incredible emotion that we all feel. This is an important win for the team and for the whole country. We are really proud," manager Jorge Luis Pinto was quoted as saying after the match on FIFA.com.

"We are making history. It's beautiful what we have done. This win is for everyone in Costa Rica. We practiced penalties before, and we had studied the opposition and that's why we scored, 100 percent."

Ahead of their win, CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb had described Los Ticos as "simply flawless" at the World Cup. "Confidence is high, but so is technique and tactical awareness," he said in an interview on CONCACAF’s website.

"I think that the job that Mr. Pinto has done with this team will have a long-lasting legacy in Costa Rican soccer."

FIFA World Cup Football Legacy Project

With the aim of promoting a lasting legacy for football in Brazil after the tournament and spreading its benefits to states that didn’t host matches, FIFA launches its first project in Belem on 6 July.

FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke, Brazilian FA and organizing committee president José Maria Marin, FIFA ExCo member Marco Polo Del Nero, women’s football star Marta, and World Cup champion Cafu are among the dignataries attending the event at Centro Esportivo da Juventude later this week.

Written by Mark Bisson

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