Greece has been knocked out of the Word Cup in dramatic fashion, beaten by Costa Rica in a penalty shootout.

The Greeks, who had been trailing 0-1, forced the match into extra time with a late goal from defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos to cancel out Bryan Ruiz’s opener in the 52nd minute.

But when the penalty shot from Theofanis Gekas was brilliantly saved by Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Michael Umana needed only to score from the spot to put his side through.

He sealed the deal with a perfect penalty to give Costa Rica a 5-3 victory on penalties.

Costa Rica, which played much of the match with only 10 men, will now play the Netherlands in the quarter finals.

Navas was the hero for Costa Rica, saving seven of the eight shots he faced in the game, including the fateful attempt from Gekas. Opposite number Orestis Karnezis, by contrast, did not make a save.

Earlier, a stoppage-time penatly from Klaas Jan Huntelaar earned the Netherlands a dramatic 2-1 round of 16 win over Mexico in Fortaleza on Monday morning.

After a scoreless first half in sweltering heat, the breakthrough came in the 48th minute when Giovani Dos Santos unleashed a devastating long-range strike that dipped into the bottom corner.

The Dutch pressed for an equaliser, coming closest when Stefan de Vrij’s header was incredibly kept out by Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa, but seemed unable to break a stubborn defence.

That was until the 88th minute, when Wesley Sneijder pounced on Klaas Jan Huntelaar’s header and belted home from the edge of the area to equalise.

With extra-time looming, disaster struck for Mexico when Arjen Robben was clipped in the area, allowing Huntelaar the chance to win it from the spot – a chance he duly took.

The Netherlands, fortunate to scrape through, will now play either Costa Rica or Greece in the quarter-finals.

More to follow.