Updated at 1.12am
LOUIS VAN GAAL’S jawdropping substitution of goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen by Tim Krul for the penalty shootout victory over Costa Rica has been hailed as a masterstroke.
However, as De Telegraaf noted, “in sport, at the highest level, success can be decided by the thinnest of margins”, and here AFP Sport looks at five other substitutions that had mixed results:
1982 - Unfit Rummenigge rallies Germans
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge stood out in a West German team lacking in finesse and whose brutal approach had won it few friends in Spain. Rummenigge started the semi-final with France on the bench because he was carrying an injury and thus was not on the pitch when Harald Schumacher’s shoulder charge saw Patrick Battiston stretchered off. However, once France went 2-1 up in extra-time Jupp Derwall had no option but to call on his one star player and he answered his call. Despite Alain Giresse putting France 3-1 up it was Rummenigge who steeled the Germans and inspired their comeback to 3-3 with him scoring one of the goals. He also scored in the penalty shootout which saw the Germans prevail only to lose to Italy in the final.
1986 - Zico’s over confidence costs Brazil
One of the standouts of the exceptional 1982 team that, to many, remains one of the best never to win the World Cup, 33-year-old Zico was hampered by a knee injury and left on the bench for the quarter-final with France. However, with the game tied at 1-1 and 20 minutes remaining Brazil coach Tele Santana called on his old warrior to try and get a goal that would prevent it going to extra-time, fearful of the effects on his ageing team in the Mexican heat. Within seconds Brazil had been awarded a penalty and with his magisterial air Zico stepped forward, although barely warmed up, to take it. No one dared contradict him but perhaps wished they had as his effort lacked power and was easily saved by Joel Bats. Although he converted his penalty in the shootout after the match finished 1-1 France went through.
1990 - Robson shows his steely side
The late Bobby Robson earned a reputation as a decent guy but in the 1990 World Cup quarter-final between England and Cameroon he showed he could also be ruthless. England were trailing 2-1 with 16 minutes remaining against the one team that had lit up an ordinary tournament and Robson decided action had to be taken. To huge surprise he opted to remove the stalwart of the England defence and the team captain Terry Butcher — someone he regarded as like a ‘son’ having given him his break in football when at Ipswich — and send on attacking midfielder Trevor Steven. It turned the game as England upped the pressure and levelled seven minutes from time through Gary Lineker before he grabbed the winner in extra-time again from the penalty spot.
1990 - O’Leary - Ireland’s historymaker
Jack Charlton and centreback David O’Leary fell out almost from the start of the no-nonsense Englishman’s reign in charge of the Republic of Ireland and didn’t talk for three years after he dropped the previous mainstay of the Irish defence in 1986. However, Charlton selected the Arsenal stalwart in the 1990 finals team — the first time they had ever qualified for the great event. He looked to have been just taken along for the ride until Charlton sent him on in the fourth minute of extra-time against the talented Romanians in their last 16 match. It went down to penalties and after Daniel Timofte’s penalty was saved by Packie Bonner it fell to O’Leary to take the decisive spot kick. He held his nerve and slotted it home. “There was an explosion of green … the biggest mistake was standing still, I nearly got killed by all my team mates,” said O’Leary.
1994 - Sacchi’s sacrilege pays off
Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi came into the second group game of the finals against Norway under severe pressure. He needed a win after the Irish had beaten his side 1-0 in their opener. However, best laid plans and all that came to nowt as goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca got red carded just after the 20 minute mark. Sacchi had to think quickly about who to sacrifice from the outfield players so he could send on the replacement and to general astonishment he opted to remove Italy’s darling and one true world class player Roberto Baggio. The pony-tailed wonder confessed later: “Nothing like this had ever happened to me.” However, Sacchi’s extraordinary gamble paid off they beat the Norwegians — the unrelated Dino Baggio scoring — and went all the way to the final only to lose on penalties to Brazil. Baggio missed one of them.
