<p>Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal was left to regret the fact he could not use his specialist penalty-saver Tim Krul in the World Cup semifinal shoot-out which they lost 4-2 to Argentina on Wednesday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Jasper Cillessen had never saved a penalty in his professional career and he failed to stop all four spot-kicks, sending Argentina into the final after Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder's efforts were saved.<br /><br />The Dutch beat Costa Rica on penalties in the quarterfinal after Van Gaal brought on substitute keeper Krul just for the shoot-out and he made two fine saves.But Van Gaal had used all three substitutions against Argentina, including taking off exhausted striker Robin van Persie in extra-time, so Cillessen had to stay on the field after the match ended 0--0.<br /><br />"If I had had the opportunity to substitute Jasper I would have done that but I had already used three substitutes so I couldn't do that," the Dutch coach told reporters."I thought it was necessary to get Van Persie out because he was on his last legs," he added. <br /><br />"My feeling was that (Klaas-Jan) Huntelaar would make the goal."Van Gaal said losing in this manner hurt him.<br /><br />"It is the most terrible scenario to lose on penalties at the very least we were the equal party in the match if not the better team so that of course is a big disappointment," he remarked.<br /><br />‘No play-off, please’<br /><br />The Netherlands will face Brazil in Saturday's third-fourth place play-off but it is not a match the Dutch want to play, with van Gaal saying it was a pointless exercise that "has nothing to do with sports."<br /><br />"I think this match should never be played and I've been saying this for 10 years. It is unfair we have one day less to recover than our opponent so that is not fair play either," he added.</p>
<p>Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal was left to regret the fact he could not use his specialist penalty-saver Tim Krul in the World Cup semifinal shoot-out which they lost 4-2 to Argentina on Wednesday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Jasper Cillessen had never saved a penalty in his professional career and he failed to stop all four spot-kicks, sending Argentina into the final after Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder's efforts were saved.<br /><br />The Dutch beat Costa Rica on penalties in the quarterfinal after Van Gaal brought on substitute keeper Krul just for the shoot-out and he made two fine saves.But Van Gaal had used all three substitutions against Argentina, including taking off exhausted striker Robin van Persie in extra-time, so Cillessen had to stay on the field after the match ended 0--0.<br /><br />"If I had had the opportunity to substitute Jasper I would have done that but I had already used three substitutes so I couldn't do that," the Dutch coach told reporters."I thought it was necessary to get Van Persie out because he was on his last legs," he added. <br /><br />"My feeling was that (Klaas-Jan) Huntelaar would make the goal."Van Gaal said losing in this manner hurt him.<br /><br />"It is the most terrible scenario to lose on penalties at the very least we were the equal party in the match if not the better team so that of course is a big disappointment," he remarked.<br /><br />‘No play-off, please’<br /><br />The Netherlands will face Brazil in Saturday's third-fourth place play-off but it is not a match the Dutch want to play, with van Gaal saying it was a pointless exercise that "has nothing to do with sports."<br /><br />"I think this match should never be played and I've been saying this for 10 years. It is unfair we have one day less to recover than our opponent so that is not fair play either," he added.</p>