Substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul saved two penalties in a dramatic shoot-out on Saturday as the Netherlands edged Costa Rica 4-3 to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

After a goalless 120 minutes, the towering Newcastle United custodian came on at the end of extra time and he saved from Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana to win the quarterfinal for the Dutch.

Argentina reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 24 years on Saturday after a Gonzalo Higuain strike secured a 1-0 win over Belgium.

Napoli striker Higuain lashed in an instinctive first time shot after eight minutes as Belgium's hopes of qualifying for the last four wilted in Brasilia.

Gonzalo Higuain smashed home an early goal as Argentina dashed the World Cup dreams of much-fancied Belgium with a 1-0 win in the quarter-finals in Brasilia on Saturday.

Higuain struck in the eighth minute at the Mane Garrincha National Stadium to send Argentina into the last four for the first time since 1990 and thwart Belgian hopes of avenging their defeat in the 1986 semi-finals.

Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano, one of the greatest players in history, suffered a heart attack in Madrid Saturday and is in a serious condition in hospital, the emergency services said.

Rescuers battled to revive the former player, who turned 88 on Friday, after his heart and breathing stopped while he was in central Madrid, said a source at Madrid Emergency Services.

Emotional Petra Kvitova blitzed Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0 in a brutal Center Court demolition on Saturday to win her second Wimbledon title and immediately vowed to keep on winning.

Three years after the tall, shy Czech sent Maria Sharapova crashing to a similar one-sided defeat in the final, she repeated the assault on the sport's latest poster girl in just 55 minutes, the shortest title match since 1983.

Four-time world footballer of the year Lionel Messi wished his Barcelona team-mate Neymar a quick recovery after the Brazil star Brazil suffered a fractured vertebrae ruling him out of the remainder of the World Cup.

"Neymar, I hope that you recover very quickly," wrote the Argentinian on his Facebook page alongside a photograph of the two stars in their Barcelona shirts.

Germany captain Philipp Lahm is desperate to avoid his side becoming the eternal third place team as they plot how to beat Brazil in the World Cup semi-final. 

While celebrating beating France 1-0 in Friday's quarter final, Lahm knows a defeat to the hosts on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte would condemn him to a third straight appearance in the third place play-off.

Roger Federer targets a record eighth Wimbledon title Sunday against Novak Djokovic who is desperate to end a stretch of Grand Slam finals defeats which are threatening to shatter his legacy.

Federer, 32, won the first of his 17 majors at Wimbledon in 2003 and the most recent in 2012 but his failure to return to a Grand Slam final since has had his critics penning his career obituary.

France coach Didier Deschamps is confident his side can learn the harsh lessons from World Cup heartache as they target success at the 2016 European Championship on home soil.

Les Bleus' promising World Cup adventure came to a disappointing end with a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Germany in the Maracana on Friday.

Lionel Messi's Argentina take on Belgium in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday again aiming to prove that they are a not a one man team.