Costa Rica want to stick to winning formula against the Netherlands

Santos, Brazil (dpa) - Costa Rica are the biggest surprise in the 2014 World Cup, and they want to extend their dream by sticking to what has taken them to the quarter-finals.

"We don't have to change anything," keeper Keylor Navas said Tuesday in Santos. "We will give our lives in one of the most beautiful games of our lives. We want to win it, and we have shown we have what it takes."

Costa Rica will on Saturday play their first ever World Cup quarter-final against the Netherlands in Salvador.

"The most important match now is the one against the Netherlands. We have made history. Football is about moments, and we don't know if we will ever again have a chance like this one," said defender Giancarlo Gonzalez.

Gonzalez noted that the "Ticos" have already got through a group with Italy, England and Uruguay with two wins and one draw, before beating Greece in a penalty shootout in the last-16 stage.

"We got through the 'group of death,' we're here and we are going to try to win this," the defender said. "We have not considered ourselves to be less than anyone else. We have already shown before world-famous stars that we can do our job, and this match will be no exception."

Gonzalez stressed that Costa Rica are ready to put up a fight against the Netherlands.

"(The Dutch) also have weaknesses, not just strengths," he warned.

Navas said: "The World Cup is a dream for all of us, and we want it to be very long and be remembered by our children."

Navas dismissed media emphasis on his role in the team, and pointed to Costa Rica's Colombian-born coach Jorge Luis Pinto as the real star.

He also stressed that they remain fit, despite the long match against Greece and the strains of the tournament. However, he noted that their real strength lies elsewhere.

"We are very united, mentally very strong. People did not reckon with us at all, everyone thought we would not get a single point, and that helped us, it motivated us," Navas said. "We believed in ourselves. We have no fear."

"The Netherlands are the favourites because they have done more important things than us, but anything can happen in a game," he said.