DURBAN, South Africa - The Netherlands reached the final eight when standouts Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder scored in each half of a 2-1 victory over Slovakia.
The Oranje, which is 4-0 here but has never won soccer's biggest prize, went ahead in the 18th minute when Robben cut inside from the right wing and found the net with a low, precise shot from 20 yards.
Sneijder doubled the lead into an empty net in the 84th after a gamble by Slovak goalkeeper Jan Mucha backfired.
Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg preserved the win with two key saves in the 67th, and the Dutch extended its team-record unbeaten streak to 23 games. Robert Vittek scored on a last-second penalty kick for Slovakia, then rushed to the net to retrieve the ball, only to hear the final whistle.
Brazil-Netherlands 'is like a final'
People are also reading…
The blockbuster quarterfinal between Brazil and the Netherlands on Friday is expected to provide the first World Cup sellout at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Venue manager Archie Charalambous says demand for tickets picked up after the potential quarterfinal lineup was clear. He expects to be "overloaded" at the ticket office today after Monday's wins by the two teams.
The 42,486-capacity stadium's biggest World Cup crowd was 38,295 for Serbia's win over Germany. There were 12,000 empty seats for Uruguay's 2-1 second-round win over South Korea.
Charalambous said, "Let's face it, this quarterfinal is like a final."
US soccer head talks about coach, replay
U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati says the American team did not meet his expectations at the World Cup, and he will likely meet with Bob Bradley after the tournament to discuss the coach's future.
Bradley was hired in December 2006 and has a contract running through the end of the year. The Americans were eliminated Saturday in the second round with a 2-1 overtime loss to Ghana.
"The team is capable of more," Gulati said Monday. "The players know it. Bob knows it. And so at that level we're disappointed we didn't get to play another 90 minutes at least."
• Gulati is willing to have Major League Soccer experiment with changes that would reduce errors by on-field officials.
"We'd be happy to do some trial cases, not rules of the game or something like that, but with an additional referee or technology," Gulati said Monday.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter opposes the use of technology, saying soccer needs to retain a human element.
Ghana's Gyan hurt
Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan has injured an ankle but is expected to play in Friday's quarterfinal match against Uruguay.
Gyan scored the clinching goal against the U.S. team.
