Dutch dent Mexico’s hope to reach qtrs

Wesley Sneijder and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar led a late Dutch fightback to sink Mexico in Fortaleza, Brazil, on Sunday and reach the last eight. A controversial injury-time penalty won by Arjen Robben saw the Netherlands snatch a 2-1 victory over Latin American side Mexico to book their birth in the quarter-finals. Bayern Munich star Robben, who is often accused of going to ground too easily, tumbled to the turf in injury time after a tackle by Mexico's Rafael Marquez. Portuguese referee Pedro Proenca pointed to the spot and stepped up to bury the winning penalty. It came just moments after Sneijder had scored an 88th-minute equaliser to cancel out Giovani dos Santos's superb goal for Mexico. The epic finale settled a second round battle played in furnace-like conditions in Fortaleza’s Castelao Stadium. Mexico coach Miguel Herrera lashed out at referee Proenca for awarding the penalty to Holland, which dashed their hopes to make it to the 2014 FIFA World Cup quarters, accrding to AFP.