Few moments in World Cup history match the sheer audacity of what Louis van Gaal did in the dying seconds of extra time during the Netherlands' quarter-final against Costa Rica at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. With the match goalless after 120 minutes in Salvador, Van Gaal pulled off a substitution that no manager had ever attempted at a World Cup — replacing first-choice goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen with Tim Krul, solely to face the looming penalty shootout.

The gamble paid off immediately. Krul saved two Costa Rica spot kicks to hand the Netherlands a 4-3 shootout victory and a place in the semi-finals, cementing his name in tournament folklore in the space of a few nerve-shredding minutes.

A plan kept secret until the last moment

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Krul revealed just how tightly the plan was guarded.