FORTALEZA (Brazil): Klaas-Jan Huntelaar struck a stoppage-time penalty as the Netherlands staged an incredible late fightback to beat Mexico 2-1 and reach the World Cup quarterfinals on Sunday. Huntelaar kept his cool in furnace-like conditions to fire Holland into the last eight after Wesley Sneijder had scored an 88th-minute equaliser to cancel out Giovani Dos Santos's goal for Mexico. The dramatic Dutch fightback left Mexico's players in tears as their last 16 jinx struck again. Mexico have now lost in the second round in six consecutive World Cup appearances, and had been just minutes away from a first quarterfinal since 1986.
The Netherlands had looked to be heading for defeat at the Castelao Stadium after a game played in ferocious heat. The match saw three-minute cooling breaks used for the first time in World Cup history as pitch-side temperatures hit 39 degrees (102.2 Fahrenheit).