FORTALEZA, Brazil -- The Dutch were worried about the oppressive heat at Arena Castelao, and they left it with the stifling hot conditions to thank for a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals. Julian Draxler Germany Jersey . An inspired tactical change during the second of two official stoppages led to a late goal from Netherlands forward Wesley Sneijder and an injury-time penalty from Klaas Jan Huntelaar in a dramatic 2-1 victory over Mexico on Sunday. "I moved to Plan B at the cooling break," said Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal, soon to be the manager at Manchester United. "That is a good way to take advantage of those breaks." Despite scoring 10 goals in three group matches, the Dutch again started the match with a defensive 5-3-2 system. Van Gaal made the switch to a more attacking 4-3-3 formation in the second half and tweaked it further when referee Pedro Proenca stopped the match in the 76th minute to allow players to rehydrate. That helped turn the match around and extend Mexicos second-round curse to six straight World Cups. "Unbelievable," said Arjen Robben, the Netherlands forward that earned the late penalty. "Five minutes from full time, we were out." Instead of the Dutch players, it was the Mexicans who wilted in the heat as they conceded twice as many goals in the final minutes of the match as they had in the entire group stage. "The humidity was against us, but we were fresher and fitter than the Mexicans," Van Gaal said. "Yes, we escaped. But we showed that we could create more chances with 4-3-3, and the players handled this shift very well." The Dutch will next face Costa Rica in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Salvador, and may have to play without midfielder Nigel de Jong, who was substituted in the ninth minute with a groin injury. Mexico coach Miguel Herrera, one of the most popular characters at the World Cup because of his emotive ways on the sidelines, blamed Proenca for the loss and accused Robben of diving under a challenge from Rafael Marquez to earn the penalty. "Today it was the man with the whistle who eliminated us from the World Cup," Herrera said. "If a referee invents a penalty, youre out of the World Cup. "I hope they have a look at what happened and that this gentleman goes home just like we are." Marquez said Robben admitted that it was a bad call, but added that the Dutchman thought he should have been awarded a spot kick for an earlier challenge. "I spoke with him after the match and he told me that it was not a penalty," Marquez said. "He said that the first foul was a penalty and that one was not called." Mexico has now advanced to the second round at the World Cup six straight times and not reached the quarterfinals. The last time the team made it that far was as host of the 1986 tournament. Giovani Dos Santos gave the Mexicans the lead in the 48th minute after a goalless first half, but Sneijder equalized with a hard shot in the 88th. It was the first time Sneijder, who scored five goals at the last World Cup in South Africa, has found the net in Brazil. Robben, who has already scored three goals for the Dutch at this years tournament, then earned the penalty in the fourth minute of injury time but he handed the ball to Huntelaar. "You dont know when your chance will come, but it was today, and so you grab it with both hands," said Huntelaar, who replaced captain Robin van Persie in the 76th minute. "And it was fantastic." For Mexico, goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was again the star player, pulling off two more great saves after playing a key role in holding Brazil to a 0-0 draw in Group A. But he couldnt block Sneijders shot and guessed wrong when diving in an attempt to stop Huntelaars penalty. "It isnt easy to go out this way, the way this match went," Ochoa said. "Its just very hard to deal with when victory escapes you this way." Philipp Lahm Germany Jersey . 1 Jelena Jankovic highlighted Mondays opening-round winners at the $2 million Dubai Duty Free Championships. Oliver Kahn Jersey . The 11-year NBA veteran scored 18 of his 28 points in the third quarter and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 104-96 Tuesday to match their season best of five victories in a row.MELBOURNE, Australia - Iran and the United Arab Emirates can all but ensure themselves of advancing to the Asian Cup quarterfinals, while Bahrain and Qatar are playing to survive in Group C on Thursday.Heres some things to watch:___QATAR VS. IRAN (0900 GMT): Three-time Asian Cup champion Iran showed why its the favourite to top Group C after a powerful display of speed and strength against Bahrain.2014 Gulf Cup champion Qatar, meanwhile, will need to draw on all its resolve to recover from an error-riddled 4-1 loss to the United Arab Emirates, when mistakes by goalkeeper Qasem Burhan contributed to at least two goals.Ehsan Hajsafi was the standout for Iran in its 2-0 win in Melbourne.The Iranians will be the clear favourites to beat Qatar in Sydney, but recent history shows it will not be a formality.Iran has lost just once to Qatar in 10 matches since 2007, but the fact that five of them ended in a draw is a more telling statistic.Thursdays game will be just the second time the two teams have met at the Asian Cup. Iran won the previous match 2-0 in 1988.Despite the background, Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said Qatar would start as favourite following its title in the recent Gulf Cup.We know that we face a well-prepared and motivated Qatar team after their success in the Gulf Cup, he said. Queiroz said. We aim to be the best team on the pitch and win the match.Irans star striker Reza Ghoochannejhad says while his side is under a lot of pressure to continue to perform at the tournament, it is ready for the challenge. Oliver Kahn Germany Jersey. .Everybody is excited to play against Iran, and everybody is motivated, especially because we are coming from the World Cup, but this is the situation right now we cant complain, we cant make excuses, he said.Iran has lost just one of its past 15 Asian Cup matches, winning nine.___BAHRAIN VS. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (0700 GMT): Fresh from a 4-1 win over Qatar, the United Arab Emirates will be virtually assured of a quarterfinals spot with a win over another Gulf rival Bahrain in Canberra.The win will be no formality, however, after Bahrain put up a spirited challenge to regional powerhouse Iran in a 2-0 loss at Melbourne on Sunday.The UAE and Iran share the Group C lead with three points each after their opening wins.Ahmed Khalil and Ali Mabkhout scored two goals each in the UAEs dominant opening performance, while playmaker Omar Abdulrahman was dangerous in midfield.This was the key game for us, UAE coach Mahdi Ali said. The first step gives players motivation and confidence for the second game ... from tomorrow we work harder.Bahrain striker John Okwunwanne constantly troubled Iran in their opener, and Sami Al Hussaini demonstrated that he wont be overawed by the tournaments big name players.In the six matches theyve played against each other since 2004, the UAE has won the past three, while Bahrain has won two.UAE has never won its opening two games at an Asian Cup. cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
